Toronto Maple Leafs Cards: A 2026 Team Hub
The Maple Leafs are an Original Six franchise with a card lineage running from 1933 V304A through 2025 Upper Deck. The 12 tentpoles span: Syl Apps, Tim Horton, Frank Mahovlich, Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming, Doug Gilmour, Mats Sundin, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares. Parkhurst and OPC dominate vintage; UD Young Guns covers modern.
For per-card grading decisions on any Leafs card, the grading decision framework walks through the math. The Original Six framework on this hub follows the same approach used in our Montreal Canadiens hub; the Leafs lineage runs the same vintage-to-modern arc through different player names and a longer Stanley-Cup-drought chapter (1967-2026 and counting).
The franchise frame
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the Original Six and have won 13 Stanley Cups, the second-most behind the Canadiens. The franchise's most celebrated era spans the 1940s-1960s; the post-1967 expansion era has produced strong individual seasons and a recent core of high-end forwards (Matthews/Marner/Nylander) without translating to championship runs. The card lineage runs continuously through the same Parkhurst/OPC/Upper Deck publisher arc as the rest of the NHL.
The franchise-affiliation rule applies: a card is a tentpole if the player's rookie or breakout card is dated to a Leafs uniform. The Leafs have one notable continuity case (Tim Horton, who played most of his career in Toronto but ended in Buffalo); the rookie card frame applies and Horton is a Leafs tentpole.
The 12 tentpole Maple Leafs cards
| # | Player | Year/Set | Era | PSA reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syl Apps | 1937 V356 World Wide Gum | Pre-war | $3,500-$8,000 (PSA 5-6) |
| 2 | Tim Horton | 1953-54 Parkhurst #100 | Original Six vintage | $1,500-$3,500 (PSA 7-8) |
| 3 | Frank Mahovlich | 1958-59 Parkhurst #1 | Original Six vintage | $2,200-$4,500 (PSA 7-8) |
| 4 | Dave Keon | 1961-62 Parkhurst #5 | 1960s dynasty | $700-$1,500 (PSA 7-8) |
| 5 | Darryl Sittler | 1971-72 OPC #193 | 1970s captain | $300-$700 (PSA 8) |
| 6 | Borje Salming | 1974-75 OPC #180 | 1970s European pioneer | $250-$550 (PSA 8) |
| 7 | Doug Gilmour | 1984-85 OPC #185 | 1980s vet, Toronto era 1992-97 | $200-$450 (PSA 8-9) |
| 8 | Mats Sundin | 1990-91 OPC Premier #67 | Quebec rookie; Toronto career 1994-2008 | $150-$350 (PSA 9-10) |
| 9 | Auston Matthews | 2016-17 UD Young Guns #201 | Modern franchise core | $700-$1,500 (PSA 10) |
| 10 | Mitch Marner | 2016-17 UD Young Guns #469 | Modern franchise core | $200-$500 (PSA 10) |
| 11 | William Nylander | 2016-17 UD Young Guns #245 | Modern franchise core | $150-$350 (PSA 10) |
| 12 | John Tavares | 2009-10 UD Young Guns #244 | Islanders rookie; Leafs career 2018-present | $300-$700 (PSA 10) |
The 12 cards in detail
1. Syl Apps, 1937 V356 World Wide Gum
Apps was the Leafs captain who led the franchise to three Stanley Cups in the 1940s. The 1937 V356 World Wide Gum set is one of the small group of pre-war Canadian hockey card sets that produced gradable copies; PSA 5-6 examples are the realistic ceiling on most copies. Authentication risk on pre-war hockey is real; SGC vintage authentication is preferred.
2. Tim Horton, 1953-54 Parkhurst #100
Horton's RC. Horton played 22 seasons in the NHL, most with the Leafs, and won four Stanley Cups in the 1960s. The 1953-54 Parkhurst RC is the canonical Horton card. PSA 7 examples cleared 1,500-2,500 USD through 2024-2026; PSA 8 reaches the high four figures.
3. Frank Mahovlich, 1958-59 Parkhurst #1
Mahovlich's RC, sitting at #1 in the 1958-59 Parkhurst checklist (the equivalent of a flagship-base #1 placement). Mahovlich won six Stanley Cups across his career (four with the Leafs). PSA 7 examples cleared 2,200-3,500 USD through 2024-2026.
4. Dave Keon, 1961-62 Parkhurst #5
Keon's RC. Keon won the Calder Trophy in 1960-61 and the Conn Smythe in 1967 (the Leafs' last Stanley Cup). Career-long Leaf, captain 1969-1975. PSA 7 examples cleared 700-1,200 USD through 2024-2026.
5. Darryl Sittler, 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee #193
Sittler's RC. Sittler held the Leafs captaincy through the 1970s and posted the famous 10-point game (six goals, four assists) on February 7, 1976. PSA 8 examples cleared 300-550 USD through 2024-2026.
6. Borje Salming, 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee #180
Salming's RC. The first European-trained NHL star, Salming played 16 seasons with the Leafs and is the Hall of Fame anchor of the franchise's defensive lineage in the 1970s-1980s. PSA 8 examples cleared 250-450 USD through 2024-2026.
7. Doug Gilmour, 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee #185
Gilmour's RC, originally a St. Louis Blues card. Gilmour's defining seasons came after the trade to Toronto in 1992 (127 points in 1992-93, the Leafs' deep playoff runs of the early-1990s). The RC is St. Louis-uniform but the franchise demand layer is from the Toronto chapter. PSA 8 examples cleared 200-350 USD through 2024-2026.
8. Mats Sundin, 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier #67
Sundin's RC, originally a Quebec Nordiques card. Sundin's Hall of Fame career was anchored by his 14 seasons with the Leafs (1994-2008), captain for 11 of them. PSA 9 examples cleared 150-280 USD through 2024-2026.
9. Auston Matthews, 2016-17 Upper Deck Young Guns #201
Matthews's RC. The headline modern Leafs card. Matthews won the Calder in 2016-17, the Hart and Rocket Richard in 2021-22, and the second Rocket Richard in 2023-24 (60 goals). The 2016-17 Young Guns RC is the canonical Matthews card. PSA 10 examples cleared 700-1,400 USD through 2024-2026.
10. Mitch Marner, 2016-17 Upper Deck Young Guns #469
Marner's RC. Same set as Matthews. Marner has been the Leafs' top-line winger and playmaking centerpiece since the 2016-17 debut season. PSA 10 examples cleared 200-450 USD through 2024-2026.
11. William Nylander, 2016-17 Upper Deck Young Guns #245
Nylander's RC. The third member of the Leafs modern core, Nylander has produced consistent 30-40 goal seasons through the late 2010s and 2020s. PSA 10 examples cleared 150-300 USD through 2024-2026.
12. John Tavares, 2009-10 Upper Deck Young Guns #244
Tavares's RC, originally an Islanders card. Tavares signed with the Leafs as a free agent in 2018 and served as captain 2019-present. The Islanders RC is the canonical Tavares card; the franchise demand layer is split between Islanders collectors and Leafs collectors. PSA 10 examples cleared 300-650 USD through 2024-2026.
What these 12 tell you about Maple Leafs collecting
- Original Six tax applies, but lower than Canadiens. Leafs vintage cards trade above expansion-team cards but below comparable Canadiens cards on the same era and grade. The Stanley Cup count differential (24 vs 13) and the post-1967 drought drive the differential.
- Parkhurst and OPC are the vintage publishers. Same Original Six pattern as Canadiens. Parkhurst dominates 1951-1968; OPC dominates 1968-1992.
- Upper Deck Young Guns is the modern RC convention. The 2016-17 set is the canonical modern Leafs RC year because Matthews, Marner, and Nylander all carry their RC there.
- Three franchise-tenure splits are notable. Gilmour (St. Louis RC, Toronto career), Sundin (Quebec RC, Toronto career), and Tavares (Islanders RC, Toronto chapter). All three are Leafs tentpoles by tenure even though the RC frame is from another team.
- The Salming European-pioneer tax. Salming's 1974-75 OPC RC carries demand beyond standard 1970s Hall of Fame defensemen because of his role as the first European star to succeed long-term in the NHL.
- Modern core demand is the largest 21st-century Leafs market. Matthews/Marner/Nylander 2016-17 Young Guns are among the most-traded NHL RCs of the last decade because the franchise demand pull is the strongest in the league outside Montreal and Detroit.
Near-miss tentpoles
Three cards routinely come up in Leafs collecting and do not make this 12-tentpole list:
- Felix Potvin 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum #232. The Cat. Strong 1990s goaltender with two Cup runs; ranked outside the 12 because of the Sundin RC anchor on the same era.
- Wendel Clark 1986-87 OPC #196. Captain through the late 1980s, fan-favorite icon. Strong case; outside the 12 because the Gilmour RC carries the era anchor for that bridge generation.
- Curtis Joseph 1989-90 OPC. CuJo. Original Cardinals/Blues RC with strong Toronto chapter (1998-2002). Outside the 12 because the Toronto career was a 4-year window, not a defining tenure.
Three habits for Leafs collectors
- Buy Parkhurst over Topps on the Original Six era. Same rule as Canadiens collecting; Parkhurst is the home-market RC convention through 1968.
- Treat 2016-17 Young Guns as the modern anchor year. Three of the franchise's top-tier modern RCs sit in this set (Matthews/Marner/Nylander). Sealed wax of 2016-17 UD Series 1 hobby boxes carries premium pricing tied to the Matthews RC odds.
- Track the Stanley Cup drought as a demand factor. The 1967 last-Cup chapter is now nearly 60 years old. A Stanley Cup run in any future season would re-rate the entire modern Leafs catalog (Matthews especially) on a single-event basis.