 Kennedy played full @-@ time with the Leafs for the first time in the 1943 – 44 season . Although the Leafs had won the Stanley Cup in 1942 , at the time of Kennedy 's arrival the Leafs were a team decimated by the loss of some of its best players to the war effort . Andy Lytle , Sports Editor of The Toronto Star , wrote of the Leaf team eliminated from the previous season 's playoffs , " I do not suppose that Toronto was so weakly represented in the N.H.L. playoffs since the club originated . " During training camp , Kennedy read in a newspaper interview of Coach Hap Day speaking about the best new prospects on the Leafs , but he had failed to mention Kennedy . This served to fire up Kennedy to give an even greater effort towards making the team . Toronto 's first pre @-@ season exhibition game was against the St. Catharine Saints , a senior team now being coached by Kennedy 's former junior coach Nels Stewart . After the game , Kennedy approached Stewart for advice , because he was disappointed he had not scored in the game . Stewart , who was the all @-@ time NHL goal scoring leader until Maurice Richard overtook him in the 1952 – 53 season , advised when facing the goaltender to " either draw him out , or pick the corner . " 
