‘It Sucked The Life Out Of Me’: Former Maple Leafs Defenseman Bryan McCabe Reflects On Bumpy Departure From Toronto

Bryan McCabe’s tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs was filled with highs and lows, but the end of his time in Toronto was marked by intense scrutiny, fan backlash, and a controversial own goal that he says “sucked the life out of me.”

Appearing on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast on Thursday, McCabe reflected on the incident that symbolized his difficult final season with the Leafs. The former defenseman, who played with the team from 2000 to 2008, scoring 93 goals and 323 points in 574 regular and postseason games, detailed how an own goal during an overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres early in the 2007-08 season became the tipping point.

On October 15, 2007, the Leafs, sporting a 2-3-2 record following this game, faced the Sabres on the road. With seconds remaining in the contest in overtime, McCabe attempted to clear a dangerous puck in the crease on the Sabres power play. Instead, his clearance attempt hit both Maple Leafs posts and went into the net – giving Buffalo the win.

“We were in Buffalo in overtime. It's like a four-on-three power play for them (Sabres) and there’s like four seconds left and Razor stops the puck (Andrew Raycroft) and it comes to me in front of the net. I’m boxing a guy out and trying to whack it into the corner and I catch it just right, and it goes off both posts and I score,” McCabe explained on the podcast.

“Overtime winning goal on my own team! It’s a power play goal though, that’s my forte,” he added.

As he recalls, the aftermath was brutal with the Toronto media plastering the incident on the front pages of newspapers, dubbing him “Bryan McKlutz.” The non-stop coverage and boos from Leafs fans every time he touched the puck was making life unbearable.

“It lasted for like the next week. It’s all they talked about and then every time I touched the puck, for a breakout, it was the boo birds. It was misery. It sucked the life out of me, my house was getting egged. You go to the movies and you can’t get away from it. It was the hardest year of my life, honestly. It sucked the life out of me,” McCabe said.

Just two seasons prior, McCabe had experienced a career-high year, scoring 19 goals and 68 points in 73 games during the 2005-06 season. His offensive output ranked third among all NHL defensemen that year, and the Leafs rewarded him with a five-year, $28.75 million contract extension that included a no-movement clause.

However, newly appointed general manager, Cliff Fletcher, approached the team eager to “trade everyone,” as McCabe described it.

“This is my exit meeting at the end of the year. I walk into his office, I don’t know Cliff very well. He goes, ‘I think it would be best for you and the organization if you played somewhere else next year. I’ll call you in a month and let me know where you want to go.’ At that point, I needed to get out of here just to save my life. It wasn’t fun anymore,” said McCabe.

On September 2, 2008, McCabe was traded to the Florida Panthers along with a fourth-round pick in exchange for defenseman Mike Van Ryn. The move was a relief for McCabe, who described his time in Florida as “a breath of fresh air.”

Despite the rough ending to his tenure, McCabe was a significant figure on the Leafs' blueline in the early 2000s. The now 49-year-old proceeded to spend parts of three seasons with the Panthers before ending his career in the 2010-11 season with the New York Rangers.

In his career, he had played in 1,191 regular and postseason games combined while accumulating 155 goals, 401 assists, and 556 points in the NHL.