Like many Leafs fans, I lost sleep last night as I anticipated a busy Trade Deadline Day. Year after year, I waste countless hours watching TSN as I eagerly await the announcement of a crazy Leafs trade. For better or for worse, the trade is never made. I think we’ve all grown accustom to this perpetual disappointment, but we still come back for more. Our love for our hockey club and the craftiness of the Toronto media somehow always draws us back in. For those who stayed home today, I am sorry. You could have saved this sick/lieu day for a warm Summer’s afternoon. Instead, you sat around for a whole work day covered in Cheetoh dust. Okay, at least that’s what I did…

Well, actually I was a little more productive than that. The deadline this year was so unbearably boring that I decided to compile a recent history of the Leafs moves on Trade Deadline Day. So with out further ado, here are all the Leafs Trade Deadline Day deals from 1980 to 2016!

P.S. Lou and his crew have done a fantastic job thus far, so don’t be too upset with their lack of activity today.

It’s #TradeCentre Day!!!
This year, there will be jugglin’ musical interludes and clowns!!! but very few trades… pic.twitter.com/nVjgIIKWPr

— PengellyInk (@pengellyink) February 29, 2016

Leafs Trade Deadline Day History (1980-2016)

• 1980 The Leafs did not make any deals and made the playoffs with a losing record (35-40-5)! The Minnesota North Stars dusted them off with a three game sweep in the first round.
• 1981  Ding Ding Ding…Leafs make three trades!
  • Leafs acquire Ron Zanussi and a 3rd Round Pick (Ernie Godden) from the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick (Dave Donnelly).
  • Leafs defenseman Robert Picard is shipped home to Montreal in exchange for goaltender Michel “Bunny” Larocque.
  • Goalie and future GM Jim Rutherford is traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a 5th round pick (Barry Brigley)
  • The club would yet again make the playoffs with a losing record (28-37-15) and get swept in three games…this time at the hands of the Islanders.
• 1982 The Buds make a single trade, sending #99 Wilf Paiement to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Miroslav Frycer and a 7th round pick (Jeff Triano). The trade didn’t make much of a difference as the Leafs failed to make the playoffs with a 20-44-16 record.
• 1983 Leafs didn’t make any moves as the NHL saw only one deal be made on this day. The 28-40-12 Leafs made the playoffs and were eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota North Stars.
• 1984 Only two trades were made in the NHL on deadline day and the Leafs played no part in either of them. Subsequently, the club failed to make the playoffs (26-45-9).
• 1985 Only four deals made on NHL trade deadline day and again the Leafs remained quiet. A 20-52-8 record would land them dead last in the league. Thus, the club was given the 1st overall selection at the 1985 Draft…

• 1986 For the fourth year in a row, the Leafs stayed pat at the deadline. Although this time the club would make the playoffs despite finishing the season with a 25-48-7 record. Remarkably, the club got past the first round as they swept the Blackhawks 3-0. Sadly, their playoff success was short-lived as they fell in seven games to the St. Louis Blues in the second round.
• 1987 Five alive! For the fifth year in a row, the Leafs skipped out on making any moves at the NHL trade deadline. A total of five trades were made in the NHL on this day. The Buds (32-42-6) would make the playoffs and get eliminated in the second round by the Red Wings who would take the series in seven games.
• 1988 Gearing up for another playoff run, the Leafs acquire Brian Curran from the Islanders in exchange for a 6th round pick (Pavel Gross). Curran finished the season with one assist in seven games and failed to record any points through six playoff games. This playoff run was swiftly ended by the Red Wings who took the series 4-2 in the first round.
• 1989 The Leafs did not partake in any of the NHL’s eight deadline day deals, but the club did make a trade the night before…sending goalie Ken Wregget to the Flyers for two 1st round picks in the upcoming 1989 draft. After failing to make the playoffs with a 28-46-6 record, the club would use their three 1st round picks on Scott Thornton, Rob Pearson and Steve Bancroft. #Fugly
• 1990 Ten trades involving sixteen players occur just before the deadline. The Leafs were not involved in any of these deals. The Buds (38-38-4) would finally post a season record at .500 and make the playoffs. This “success” was quickly put down by the St. Louis Blues who eliminated the Leafs in five games in the first round.
• 1991 Leafs account for three of the NHL’s fourteen trade deadline day deals!
  • Leafs send goalie Allan Bester to the Red Wings in exchange for a 6th round pick (Alex Kuzminski). The Ukrainian Kuzminski would never play in the NHL.
  • The Buds acquire Keith Osborne from the St. Louis Blues for Darren Veitch. Both players would never play a game for their new clubs.
  • Leafs trade Bobby Reynolds to Washington for Rob Mendel. Again, both players would never play a game for their new clubs.
  • These minor deals didn’t appear to help any as the club failed to make the playoffs with a 23-46-11 record.
• 1992 GM “Trader Cliff” Fletcher makes his Leafs trade deadline debut and he didn’t disappoint as he pulled off a few trades…
  • Leafs ship Dave Hannan to the Sabres in exchange for a 5th round pick (Chris DeRuiter).
  • Leafs acquire Ken Baumgartner and Dave McLlwain from the New York Islanders in exchange for Daniel Marois and Claude Loiselle.
  • Leafs re-acquire Mark Osborne from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Lucien DeBlois.
  • The Buds would fail yet again to make the playoffs, finishing with a 30-43-7 record.
• 1993 The playoff-bound Leafs sat out on all of the NHL’s nine deadline day deals. For the first time in well over a decade, the club finished the season with a winning record (44-29-11). After dusting off the Wings and the Blues respectively, the Leafs would fall to Kerry Fraser and the Kings in the Clarence Campbell Conference Finals.
• 1994 At the deadline, the Leafs acquire Mike Gartner from the New York Rangers in exchange for Glenn Anderson, a 4th round pick (Alex Korobolin) and the rights to Scott Malone. Gartner would finish the regular season with twelve points in ten games and eleven points in eighteen playoff games. The Buds finished the season with a 43-29-12 record before being eliminated by the Canucks in the Conference Finals.
• 1995 TRADES GALORE!!! The Leafs complete six deals within 48 hours of the trade deadline.
  • Leafs acquire Paul DiPietro from the Habs in exchange for a 4th round pick (Kim Staal).
  • Nikolai Borschevsky is shipped to Calgary in exchange for a 6th round pick (Chris Bigras).
  • Leafs send Eric Fichaud to the Islanders in exchange for Benoit Hogue, a 3rd round pick (Ryan Pepperall) and a 5th round pick (Brandon Sugdon).
  • The Buds acquire Gord Kruppke for future considerations from the Detroit Red Wings.
  • Leafs trade Drake Berehowsky to the Penguins for Grant Jennings.
  • The club re-acquires tough guy Tie Domi from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Mike Eastwood and a 3rd round draft pick (Brad Isbister).
  • The Leafs made the playoffs as they finished the shortened lockout season with a 21-19-8 record. The club would ultimately be eliminated in the first round by the Blackhawks in a seven-game series.
• 1996 Only one Leafs trade to report from this day…The club shipped Ken Baumgartner to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in exchange for a fourth round pick. A 34-36-12 record was good enough to make the playoffs, but the Leafs fell in the first round to the Blues in six games.
• 1997 The falling Leafs completed three trades at the deadline. With a 30-44-8 record, the club would fail to make the postseason.
  • Kirk Muller is sent to Florida in exchange for Jason Podollan.
  • Leafs acquire Kelly Chase from Hartford in exchange for an 8th round pick (Jaroslav Svoboda).
  • Defenseman Larry Murphy is traded to Detroit for future considerations. ARRRHGGGHHHH.
• 1998 The Leafs (30-43-9) were sellers at the deadline as they completed three trades…
  • Mike Kennedy is sent to Ottawa for an 8th round pick (Mihail Travnicek)
  • Jamie Macoun is shipped to Detroit for a 4th round pick (Alex Ponikarovsky)
  • Leafs acquire Sylvain Cote from Washington in exchange for Jeff Brown.
• 1999 Leafs complete two trades at the deadline to bolster a formidable playoff run…
  • Defenseman Jason Smith is traded to Edmonton for a 2nd round pick (Kris Vernasky) and a 4th round pick (Jonathan Zion).
  • Leafs re-acquire Yanic Perrault from the Kings in exchange for Jason Podollan and a 3rd round pick (Cory Campbell). Perrault finished the season with fifteen points in twelve games and nine points in seventeen playoff games.
  • Pat Quinn’s Leafs would finish the season with a 45-30-7 record. After trucking through Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the Buds would fall in five games to the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• 2000 The club would stand pat at the deadline and ultimately finished the season with a 45-27-7 record which was good enough to win the Northeast Division. A terrific season was ended by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round as the Leafs went down in six games.
• 2001 BLOCKBUSTER TRADE! Leafs only made one trade at the deadline, but boy was it a doozy…The club acquired fan-favourite Aki Berg from the LA Kings in exchange for Adam Mair and a 2nd round pick (Mike Cammalieri). A 37-29-11 record was good enough to make the playoffs, but for a second consecutive year the Leafs would fall to the Devils in the 2nd round. Berg finished the season with three goals in twelve games and an additional two assists in eleven playoff games.
• 2002 The steaming hot Leafs (43-25-10) did not partake in any of the seventeen trades that occurred on deadline day. Sadly, their season came to an end when the Carolina Hurricanes defeated them in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• 2003 A record-setting twenty-four trades take place just before the deadline, with the Leafs partaking in two of them.
  • Leafs re-acquire former captain Doug Gilmour from the Habs in exchange for a 6th round pick (Mark Flood). Gilmour would only play one more shift for the club before enduring a career-ending injury.
  • The Buds also acquired future Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley from the Blackhawks in exchange for a 4th round pick (Karel Hromas) and a 9th round pick (Chris Porter). Housley would fail to register a point for the Leafs through one regular season game and three playoff games.
  • The playoff-bound Leafs (44-28-7-3) were eventually knocked out in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers.
• 2004 Leafs make a single trade at the deadline, acquiring the great Ron Francis from Carolina in exchange for a 4th round pick (Jared Boll). Francis would finish the season with ten points in twelve games and an additional four points in twelve playoff games. For the second year in a row, the Leafs (45-24-10-3) would be eliminated by the Flyers. Although, this time the defeat occurred in the second round.
• 2005 No deadline due to lockout.
• 2006 Leafs amidst the playoff-hunt, make two moves before the deadline…
  • Leafs re-acquire defenseman Luke Richardson from Columbus in exchange for a 4th round pick (Nick Sucharski). Richardson would finish with three points in twenty-one games.
  • Leafs trade Ken Klee to the Devils for Aleksander Suglobov.
  • These minor deals would not be enough as the Leafs (41-33-8) missed the postseason for the first and only time in the Pat Quinn era.
• 2007 In a desperate attempt to solidify a playoff spot, the Leafs re-acquire Yanic Perrault for a second time and a 5th round pick (Joel Champagne) from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Brenden Bell and a 2nd round draft pick. The Leafs (40-31-11) would fail to qualify for the playoffs and the 2nd rounder would eventually be used to select NHL All Star Roman Josi.
• 2008 With Trader Cliff back at the helm, the “re-building” Leafs make three separate trades with the Panthers at the deadline…
  • Leafs send Hal Gill to Florida for a 2nd round pick (Jimmy Hayes) and a 5th round pick.
  • Fan-favourite Wade Belak is also traded to Florida for a 5th round pick (Jerome Flaake).
  • Chad Kilger is the third Leaf to be traded to Florida, netting the club a 3rd round pick.
  • The club failed to make the playoffs as they finished with a 36-35-11 record.
• 2009 Brian Burke partakes in his first Leafs trade deadline day and pulls off three trades…
  • Dominic Moore is sent to Buffalo for a 2nd round pick (Jesse Blacker).
  • Nik Antropov is sent to the New York Rangers for a 2nd round pick (Kenny Ryan) and a conditional 4th rounder.
  • Leafs acquire Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rodgers and a 4th round pick from Tampa Bay in exchange for Richard Petiot.
  • For obvious reasons, the Leafs (34-35-13) missed the playoffs again…
• 2010 Another busy deadline day for Burke and the Leafs…
  • Night before the deadline, the Leafs traded Alex Ponikarovsky to the Penguins for Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula.
  • Leafs acquire Chris Peluso from the Blues in exchange for a 6th round pick (Joe Rogalski).
  • Leafs acquire Matt Jones, a 4th round pick and a 7th round pick from the Coyotes in exchange for Lee Stempniak. (Both picks were used in later trades)
  • Leafs turn around and trade Martin Skoula to New Jersey for a 5th round pick (Sam Carrick).
  • Leafs send Joey MacDonald to the Ducks for a 7th round pick (Max Everson).
  • The bottom-dwelling Leafs (30-38-14) missed the playoffs and missed out on Tyler Seguin.
• 2011 With most of the deals occurring before the deadline, the Leafs only make one trade on deadline day. John Mitchell was sent to the Rangers in exchange for a 7th round pick (Viktor Loov). The Buds would of course miss the playoffs as they finished the season with a 37-34-11 record.
• 2012 The Leafs make two small deals at the deadline…
  • Leafs send Keith Aulie to Tampa Bay for Carter “Puff Daddy” Ashton.
  • Leafs acquire defenseman Mark Fraser from the Ducks in exchange for Dale Mitchell.
  • The club finished the season with a 35-37-10 record and failed to make the playoffs yet again.
• 2013 For the first time in almost a decade, the Leafs entered the deadline as buyers. The club made one heck of a deal as they acquired defenseman Ryan O’Byrne from Colorado in exchange for a 4th round pick. O’Byrne finished the season with two points in eight games and zero points in six playoff games. Yes believe it or not, the Leafs (26-17-5) actually played some playoff hockey…but we don’t need to discuss that.
• 2014 The Leafs did not make any trades at the deadline and subsequently finished the season with a 38-36-8 record. This was one of many “18-wheeler” seasons…
• 2015 With most of the trades happening weeks prior to the deadline, the Leafs made two deadline day deals…
  • Leafs send Korbinian Holzer to the Ducks in exchange for Eric Brewer and a 5th round pick.
  • Leafs send Olli Jokinen to St. Louis for Joakim Lindstrom and a 6th round pick.
  • The club tanked out the season and finished with a 30-44-8 record.
• 2016 GM Lou Lamoriello enters his first trade deadline day with the Leafs (21-29-10)…Many players have been traded leading up to the deadline, but no trades have taken place on deadline day so far.

There you have it! An in-depth rundown on the Leafs trade deadline day history from 1980 to 2016.

It is the first time since 2006 the #Leafs didn't make a trade on the actual deadline day.

— David Alter (@dalter) February 29, 2016