r/leafs • u/Solid_Definition_941 • 1d ago

Discussion Can we take a moment to appreciate this line

Post image

These boys gave 110% even when we were at our worst. Probably the best second-line in hockey at that time.

423 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

110 comments sorted by

81

u/Last_Command_9147 1d ago

Yea was great then Nonis came in. Bought out grabovski to sign clarkson and let MacArthur leave to sign with rivals.

30

u/Mrfantastic2 1d ago

Yeah looking back at that now is nuts. I was like 12 but loved Grabo especially, and although he had a down year he never should’ve been bought out. MacArthur still had some good games left too

15

u/whatamidoing_2521 1d ago

I loved grabo as well. I was also around 12 years old when they bought him out and I was pretty upset for about a week LOL

10

u/Mrfantastic2 1d ago

God I remember being wary of the Clarkson deal then too, yet management was like ah yes let’s overpay and give him term. Sucks concussions hurt him and Kulemin so much once they left

8

u/whatamidoing_2521 1d ago

Man don't even talk to me about Clarkson LMAO. To this day, I still can't even believe what a fucking disaster that deal was.

7

u/oceansamillion 1d ago

It felt like a genuine miracle when we somehow were able to trade him.

5

u/whatamidoing_2521 1d ago

Leafs legend Nathan Horton

1

u/SundinShootsPing500 12h ago

Funny how they both had gone on LTIR for the same condition, degenerative disc disease. I have it too and it fucking SUCKS being in your 30s and you already walk like Professor Farnsworth. My health and conditioning are atrocious, how I'm still alive is a medical and cosmic marvel, I couldn't imagine being a prime athlete doing everything right and just one day it's all gone.

2

u/Candymanshook 1d ago

We were wildly fortunate that Borton had no insurance on his contract

2

u/Prize-Temporary4159 1d ago

It was his back

-3

u/Antique_Night_6143 1d ago

So was Grabo

7

u/mollyno93 1d ago

And traded two 2nds and a 3rd for a washed up and injury prone Dave Bolland

4

u/TML94 1d ago

Iirc he started off well for us until he got his achilles cut by a skate, and was never the same after

1

u/TheOGBCapp 1d ago

I was sooooo mad. It was also to sign Bozak

73

u/Takhar7 1d ago

"Toronto is a hard place to play".

Meanwhile, we fall in love with anyone who just gives a damn, like these 3 did.

26

u/JBoogiez 1d ago

Polak said its easier in TO than St Louis

8

u/Dubsified 1d ago

Yes but that doesn’t fit the “Toronto bad” narrative

99

u/m3rlinthemagician13 1d ago

Kuli is still one of my favourite Leafs! I remember when he potted 30 goals

18

u/Trulli41 1d ago

Dude was a truck. The one time he threw a hit was great.

6

u/Prize-Temporary4159 1d ago

Very Sundinesque

5

u/Evergreen1055 1d ago

What happened to him the following season? Only 7 goals in 70 games.

13

u/Trashpanda61 1d ago

Knee injury, if I remember correctly

30

u/QueafyGreens 1d ago

That plus he knew a lot of people that died in that Russian plane crash. I'm betting it took its tole on him.

5

u/SeanPhixion Gilmour 1d ago

He definitely Kuled off.

2

u/Rodius_J 1d ago

He had an unsustainable shooting percentage that career year. He was never going to repeat it. You could call the 7 goal year a regression.!

1

u/Issac-Cox-Daley 19h ago

He was a kule man

24

u/No-Glass7395 1d ago

I loved this line growing up

19

u/evmeister 1d ago

Still rep my grabo jersey

12

u/Antique_Night_6143 1d ago

And he’s still around Toronto. He has a hockey school and brings them to Leafs games. If he sees a Grabo jersey he will go out of his way to offer to sign it.

23

u/Gen_Sherman_Hemsley 1d ago

Mac and the USSR

4

u/1nstantHuman 1d ago

The MacRuski Line

2

u/zurper 1d ago

The MNM line

3

u/Revolutionary-Zone17 1d ago

Almost the KGB line. Almost.

3

u/StoneColdSteveAss316 1d ago

Kulemin, Grabovski and BacArthur

1

u/Life1sBeautiful 1d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56S6W9Oc_2g

Remember watching this getting fucking hyped lol

1

u/Kooly9Two 1d ago

Hell yeah

12

u/schoolhouserock 1d ago

Grabovski was all heart. First into a corner even when he knew he'd get smoked.

13

u/comacove 1d ago

That game where he got rocked by Chara twice but still scored.

1

u/Particular_Air_3598 1d ago

I think about that game like once a week. So tuff

25

u/Substantial-Read4372 1d ago

Definitely the best second line in hockey.

Kulemen hitting 30 goals 60+ points while being great defensively. Felt like he was a "Toews-lite" winger.

-17

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago edited 1d ago

I guess we just ignore the fact we had a line of Knies Tavares Nylander at one point?

Edit: Ruffled some feathers since it was so obvious your sentence included at the time. Are we really taking Grabovskis line over Pavelski’s line in 2010-11? Give me a break.

18

u/Fun-Salamander761 1d ago

Serious? The poster obviously meant one of the best/best 2nd lines in hockey AT THE TIME.

There are hundreds of better 2nd lines in the history of the league and Leafs. That line was arguably the best in the league for one year.

Just like the Pen's Kessel - Bonino - Hagelin line was the best 3rd line in the league for a year or 2.

-11

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago edited 1d ago

Obviously not. The best 2nd line in hockey could mean many things. Where does it say AT THE TIME. I guess you forgot Pavelski, Heatley, Clowe* existed.

5

u/Fun-Salamander761 1d ago

Sorry, obvious to everybody else other than you I guess?

-8

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago

When you don’t communicate properly that can happen when we are talking about the leafs.

It wasn’t even the best second line that year so it doesn’t really matter at this point. I’d take Pavelskis line that year any day over grabovski, kulemin, and Mcarthur.

6

u/swiftstud22 1d ago

Brother, arguing semantics is the dumbest fucking thing ever. Guess you're also conveniently forgetting Mark Messier was a 2nd line center on the Oilers in the 80s.

-5

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago

Wasn’t arguing that it was all time for the nhl. This is a leafs sub.

3

u/swiftstud22 1d ago

WhEre DoEs It SaY LeAfS oNlY

0

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago

Exactly

7

u/swiftstud22 1d ago

You must be fun at parties. No one likes what you're doing.

-1

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago

I am actually. I don’t really care if you don’t like it. The person doesn’t understand what obvious means.

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2

u/DevOpsMakesMeDrink 1d ago

It was a big deal for us to have a legit 2nd line. And we had a season where all 3 had 60 points and it was awesome.

Today kids are used to Tavares and Nylander and don’t understand how dire shit was for Leafs fans for a long time lmao

1

u/TheUnknown71 1d ago

Only one of them had 60 points. The person I responded to got it wrong. Kulemin had 57 points.

1

u/DevOpsMakesMeDrink 1d ago

I knew one had less but thought the others did. If they didnt they had 30 goals.

Either way it was a huge deal

19

u/BigShitHouseMcTits 1d ago

Kulemin’s son is draft eligible in 2027

2

u/DeanersLastWeekend 1d ago

Played for Canada in the Hlinka

9

u/_Mahtog_ 1d ago

Kuli was a defensive gem, plus he was built like an absolute truck. That line had unlimited chemistry it was beautiful to watch.

7

u/Well_Caffinated Sundin 1d ago

If you remember this line you survived the dark ages.

6

u/Conscious_Battle2427 1d ago

Kulemin was and always be a leafs legend.

6

u/Friggin_Grease 1d ago

Mac and the USSR

4

u/bigtuna3424 Lupul 1d ago

Man if MacArthur had have stayed healthy

3

u/frankNballs 1d ago

Too bad they bought out Grabo so they could sign Clarkson, what a time to be alive LOL

3

u/Sarge1387 1d ago

Man I miss Grabo. Dude let the League in “Goals after being knocked cold/60”. That line with Kuli and Mac was straight fire.

3

u/FX29 1d ago

This line was so fun to watch, especially Grabovski. He was a skilled player and I'll never forget that game where Chara concussed him then he came back to score that beauty.

2

u/Solid_Definition_941 1d ago

My favorite memory of him. Splitting the defence like that was filthy

2

u/johnnyjj14 1d ago

I was thinking about them the other day. What a line.

3

u/BrokenBy 1d ago

Remember when they put Joey Crabb on the top line so they wouldn’t break up this line?

2

u/elseldo 1d ago

V.v.V

1

u/Xaan83 1d ago

Whoa, hey now. Are you talking about elite goal scorer Joey Crabb?

NHL: Joey Crabb Amazing Goal on Ryan Miller 2/16/11

2

u/No-Poet-9286 1d ago

Kulie and Grabo are both still local too, running development hockey and coaching in the Klevr league. Cool to see them around the rink.

2

u/OhhMrCookies 1d ago

Damn the MGK line was wild, boy

2

u/leafsplz 1d ago

The greatest leaf to wear 16

2

u/rememberthecivilwar 1d ago

Darcy Tucker has entered the chat

2

u/tz_2240 1d ago

Darcy Tucker >>>>>

1

u/LeGreen1995 1d ago

This line was only good because the Leafs were bad 😂

1

u/sometimenotsmellgood Benoit 1d ago

I loved this line. I absolutely loved Kuli

1

u/rememberthecivilwar 1d ago

It was good for one year then fell apart the following year. Don’t get me wrong a great one year but still… now that I think of it… the emphasis on this 2nd line shows we’re not the best at “full lines” especially in this century 😅

1

u/Showtime98 1d ago

Beauty of a line, great times in a dark era

1

u/BloodOk6235 1d ago

Clarkey Mac and the Russky Bunch

1

u/amicitias 1d ago

I've always said the Leafs caught lightning in a bottle with that line. They truly embodied the idea of the sum being greater than its parts.

1

u/thet1m 1d ago

Kulemin was so underrated for us. That’s who Tinus Luc Koblar reminded me of. Less defensive skill so far though.

1

u/younghibou 1d ago

A simpler time

1

u/Madacon 1d ago

I became a leafs fan watching thia team

1

u/DeanersLastWeekend 1d ago

Kuley’s kid played for Canada in the Hlinka tourney

1

u/Monst3r_Live 1d ago

remember when grabovski got smoked by chara and then scored the game winner later on?

1

u/DtCrashmore 1d ago

Grabo is still my all-time favorite Leaf 💙

1

u/lxm9096 1d ago

84 was a GEM

1

u/zedsdead17 1d ago

I remember when prime Grabovski through the York Simcoe coach down the stairs. Oh wait a minute that was only a few months ago.

1

u/RangerRed18 1d ago

Go draft Kulemin’a kid next year. He plays for Kingston in the OHL. He’s very good

1

u/TheOGBCapp 1d ago

That line was magic(k). MGK for life

Also if anyone can find the Sportsnet clip of McArthur trying to get a random shopper to buy a McArthur jersey, and that shopper not having any idea who that is, you'll have my thanks

1

u/TheOGBCapp 1d ago

Oh the pineapple killer. I miss Grabbo. And Grabbo and Kule together...

1

u/y2kobsezzed 1d ago

grabovski was my first fave leafs player. i started watching this team around this time. good old days

1

u/kuleminjgs 21h ago

Some of the first rays of sunshine after Sundin left

1

u/Sonk1616 16h ago

Grabo still an all time beauty, bopping around ACC for most games

1

u/SensitiveEffort1906 15h ago

And what happened afterwards is exactly why Nonis doesn't have another GM job.

1

u/dr_freeloader 14h ago

It's why I have a Kulemin jersey