 The 1947 – 48 season brought Max Bentley to Toronto from Chicago in what has been called the biggest trade in NHL history as the Leafs gave up five regular players for the league 's scoring leader . Evincing the depth of the team at centre , Bentley played on the team 's third line , behind Apps and Kennedy . Decades later , Hap Day argued that this team was the strongest NHL team ever and Globe and Mail reporter Dick Beddoes also stirred up controversy by saying Wayne Gretzky would have been relegated to the fourth line on this Leaf team . 
