Patience for the Maple Leafs was their left fielder.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had trouble finding a consistent left wing all season.

Other than Michael Bunting, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had little success finding left wingers who can crack the top six. Players such as Alex Kerfoot, Kalle Jarnkrok, Nick Robertson, Pontus Holmberg, Matthew Nice and Tyler Bertuzzi auditioned for the role of the Lafs superstar.

The Leafs drafted the prolific lefty in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft, but traded him without knowing what kind of player he would become. That player is Carter Verhaege, left wing for the Florida Panthers. For those who don’t remember, Verhege was traded to the New York Islanders for Michael Grabner in September 2015 along with Taylor Beck, Matt Finn, Tom Nilsson and Christopher Gibson. Patience for the Maple Leafs was their left fielder.

Lou Lamoriello was the general manager of the Leafs at the time and decided to eliminate several contracts for the Leafs. The Leafs hit the league’s 50-contract limit, trading five prospects for an active player. It didn’t seem like a terrible deal at the time, but the Leafs were able to benefit from Verhaegh’s presence in recent seasons and this season.

Verhaeghe had 42 goals, 31 assists and 73 points in 81 games last season. He has 44 points, 23 goals and 21 assists in 45 games this season. Verhaegh recorded 221 points, 116 goals and 105 assists in 299 games over five seasons. Some might argue that he wouldn’t be the same player if he had stayed with the Leafs. But if the talent was there and it was obvious, I think the Leafs would have seen it. (stats from hockey-reference.com)

Verhaye, 28, is in the second year of a three-year, $12.5 million contract. His salary cap hit is $4.166 million, which is less than the Leafs are paying Tyler Bertuzzi ($5.5 million). Of course, things happen for a reason and trades are part of the job, but how cool would it be if Verhaegh were on the Leafs right now? He can definitely be called a runaway. If the Leafs had been a little more patient in 2015, they could have plucked the left wing from the organization’s top six.