Carter Verhaeghe Headlines List of Former Maple Leafs to Watch for in 2023 Stanley Cup Final

Once part of a five-for-one trade to the New York Islanders, the former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick has been a standout during the Florida Panthers improbable run to the Final.

We're down to two teams as the Vegas Golden Knights get ready to host the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday. Here are four former Toronto Maple Leafs who are looking to take Lord Stanley home.

While all the talk around the Panthers has been centered around goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Matthew Tkachuk, Verhaeghe's impact has been huge. The 27-year-old has six goals and 15 points in 16 playoff games. Three of his six goals have been game-winners, including the big Game 7 overtime goal that helped lift his team to an upset against the Boston Bruins.

Verhaeghe was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft. In 2015, he was one of five prospects traded by the club to the New York Islanders for veteran forward Michael Grabner. It wasn't until 2019 that Verhaeghe finally broke through. After winning the AHL scoring title one year, Verhaeghe found success at the NHL level with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2019-20 season. He signed with the Florida Panthers later that fall after the club failed to tender him a qualifying offer and he's been a regular with the club since.

"I always believed in myself," Verhaeghe said in an interview with the Toronto Star. "Playing in the minor leagues, working hard and trying to get better every day, I always believed I'd be playing in the NHL one day."

The former Maple Leafs forward has been a solid depth forward for the Golden Knights during their run to the Final. The 27-year-old has three goals and seven points in 11 playoff games in 2023. 

Amadio's impact was felt in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final when he scored a goal and added an assist in their series-clinching 6-0 win against the Dallas Stars.

Toronto signed Amadio to a one-year, two-way contract on July 29 and the forward managed to make the team's opening night roster. He played in three games without registering a single point before he was placed on waivers to make room for Auston Matthews' return from a wrist injury. Amadio was claimed by the Golden Knights and has been with the club since. In January of 2022, the Golden Knights signed Amadio to a two-year extension.

In normal circumstances, Phil Kessel would normally lead a list like this. Toronto's highest-scoring player for six seasons, Kessel went on to win two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 and can win another one here in 2023. But Kessel has been limited to four games where he has recorded two assists. 

Kessel has not played since Game 4 of the first round against the Winnipeg Jets and he was replaced by William Carrier when the forward returned from a lower-body injury.

It was a bit of a surprise move as Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy elected to go with other depth forward like Amadio and Teddy Blueger over the NHL's current ironman.

Kessel holds the current record for consecutive NHL games played at 1,064. The number does not include playoff games, meaning Kessel's record is still active if he played in his first eligible game next season.

Froese first broke out into the NHL during Mike Babcock's first season as head coach of the Maple Leafs in 2015-16. The Winkler, Manitoba native played in 56 games and scored his first NHL goal on Dec. 19, 2015, against the Los Angeles Kings. His tenure ended the following season when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of a package to acquire veteran forward Brian Boyle before the deadline. Froese has since bounced between the NHL and AHL where he had stops with the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames. He joined the Golden Knights as a free agent last summer on a two-year, two-way deal and played nine games for the Knights during the regular season. He's currently on the team's taxi squad and has yet to play in the 2023 postseason.

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