Jake Gardiner

Toronto Maple Leafs: Moments From The Randy Carlyle Era

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:40 p.m. ET

Fansided, Eduardo Razo/FanSided via Editor In Leaf

With the Anaheim Ducks having made their way into the Air Canada Centre, it marked the return of familiar face for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Randy Carlyle.

After the firing of Ron Wilson, then President and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke brought in Carlyle to replace him. In his tenure, Carlyle compiled a record of 91-78-19. Also, he helped end the playoff drought that plagued the franchise since the 2004-2005 lockout.

During his time there were good and bad moments that surrounded the team. Nonetheless, he had a shelf life and it came sooner rather than later. His rocky relationships with some players and underperforming teams led to his firing two years ago.

Since then, the Maple Leafs have entered a rebuild while Carlyle has entered his second stint with the Anaheim Ducks. Furthermore, with Anaheim’s 3-2 win, everyone can put Carlyle’s four seasons in Toronto behind them.

However, let’s go down memory one final time. Here are a few moments that defined that Carlyle era in Toronto:

Carlyle’s Humorous Side

In 2014, the Maple Leafs were selected to face the Detroit Red Wings at the Big House in Ann Arbor for the annual Winter Classic. However, prior to that, they had a series that documented the teams before the outdoor game.

One of the memorable moments did not include a speech or coaching strategy from Carlyle. Instead, we had the toaster scene, which summed up his tenure with the Maple Leafs. Here’s a quick reminder, he had an epic battle with a toaster after getting a piece of bread stuck in there.

It has become a staple for any fan looking to make a joke at the expense of Carlyle.

Furthermore, he could crack jokes and relate to his players. When former Maple Leaf forward Phil Kessel arrives late, Carlyle makes jokes while in the background. Thus leading to the to the infamous line “Good one Randy, good one.”

His Handling of Players

For all the jokes and funny scenes that came with him, Carlyle did not handle his players very well. From Jake Gardiner to James Reimer there were incidents in which mismanaged the situation. In his media scrum, he cleared the air about his handling of Gardiner, but his handling of others caused a rift.

Nonetheless, his two biggest rifts during his tenure were with Reimer and Mikhail Grabovski. After being bought out in 2013, Grabovski voiced his displeasure with his handling by Carlyle.

Finally, one of the final nails that ended his tenure in Toronto. The famous, “just okay” line when describing the play of Reimer during a post game interview. It spread like wildfire, causing tension between them.

Making The Best of What He Had

Under the Brian Burke and Dave Nonis era, the Maple Leafs had flaws. For example, having Dion Phaneuf play top-pairing minutes. Lacking a number one center and having average goaltending. They relied on players to play bigger roles than they could handle.

Yet, Carlyle managed to still guide this dysfunctional ship into the playoffs ending their playoff drought.

With the youth movement taking place now has replaced the foul taste of this era, but for fans, it will remain a wasted one for the dysfunction that went on in the front office and behind the bench.