Former Maple Leafs first-round reclamation project Tim Erixon officially hangs up the skates at 35
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
A former first-round pick whose brief
stint in Toronto helped trigger the most significant rebuilding phase in modern Maple Leafs history has officially been forced into retirement
Tim Erixon, a defenseman who spent his final NHL season as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, officially retired from hockey at the age of 35.
Erixon was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, 23rd overall by the Calgary Flames. Erixon made his NHL debut in 2011 as a member of the New York Rangers, having been dealt by Calgary in the offseason.
Appearing in 78 NHL games across four seasons for three teams, the Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, & Chicago Blackhawks, Erixon was claimed off waivers by Toronto.
Erixon appeared in 15 games for the Leafs and had a single point before being dealt in 2015 to Pittsburgh in the trade that also sent franchise star Phil Kessel to the Penguins.
Continuing to play in the AHL until 2019, Erixon then proceeded to return to his native Sweden, where he played in the top flight SHL for Vaxjo and Timra.
Erixon, who has not played since 2024, is retiring due to injury issues related to his back and foot, according to local Swedish outlet Sundsvalls Tidning.
Tim Erixon plans to remain in hockey, still wants to play again
Tim Erixon told Sundsvalls Tidning in an exclusive interview that he would want to continue playing hockey, but that injuries make such a possibility almost impossible.
Erixon said as well that he would like to consider coaching as an alternative, but that he would be training for potentially one day being back on the ice.
Officially, Erixon has left Timra in the SHL, but hasn't completely ruled out unretiring, although admitting the unlikely chances of that happening.
Erixon's father, Jan, also a former NHLer, had been a coach in the Swedish junior ranks, although never having gotten a coaching chance in men's hockey.
The bizarre June 23 connection between Erixon's retirement and the Zach Hyman era
Tim Erixon's depature from the Toronto Maple Leafs was the beginning of the next era that would come to define the Leafs future.
A throwaway piece in the Phil Kessel deal, the move went on to be the catalyst for shedding a Leafs team that didn't work, and filling it with new faces.
It would be that after dealing Kessel and Erixon that Toronto would add a young free agent in Zach Hyman, having drafted William Nylander last year, and just selecting Mitch Marner, along with in the Kessel deal acquiring Kasperi Kapanen.
Without their star in Kessel, Toronto was one or the league's weakest teams, a necessary roster teardown that ultimately rewarded the franchise with the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and the selection of future captain Auston Matthews.
Though little fault of his own, Erixon's biggest impact as a Leaf came off the ice, as an important piece that was able to signal the end of one of the most challenging eras in Toronto Maple Leafs history.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 19|798 ANSWERS Former Maple Leafs first-round reclamation project Tim Erixon officially hangs up the skates at 35 Do you remember Tim Erixon as a Leaf? | ||
| Yes | 197 | 24.7 % |
| No | 601 | 75.3 % |
| List of polls | ||