Leafs revealed to have passed on Swayman in classic Leafs fashion

Despite the trouble the leafs have had in the finishing their chances in the series against Boston, a ton of the success for the Bruins can be attributed to goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Swayman has been a vezina caliber goalie for the last two seasons, being part of the monster tandem that is so pivotal to Boston's wins. Turns out the Leafs actually had a great chance to draft him but in classic Leafs fashion ended up drafting an unproductive replacement instead.

It turns out that the Leafs could have actually prevented being walled by Swayman, when they had a great chance to draft him in the 2017 draft. The Leafs picked one pick before the Bruins in the fourth round in this draft, and had told Swayman they had a lot of interest in him. Word is that Swayman really believed that he was going to be a Leaf, until the Leafs picked a goalie who doesn't even play professional hockey anymore.

Instead of having Swayman on their team, the Leafs now have to face him in the playoffs where he is putting up astounding numbers against them. Swayman has a 3-0 record this year against the Leafs, posting an unreal .956 save perecentage, 1.34 GAA and an insane 8.5 goals saved above expected, where the next best goalie sits at 4.8.


The Leafs are always known for making hilarious draft mistakes, but very few will come back to bite them nearly as much as this one has. It's crazy to think about how much better the Leafs would be if they had the consistency that Swayman can offer, and where they'd be if they weren't getting bounced by him in the first round.