Tonight a new interview with former NHLer and current analyst Anson Carter revealed a surprising secret regarding a former regime for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over the last several seasons the concept of the Toronto Maple Leafs signing hometown players like Mitch Marner and John Tavares has been commonplace. While the new era of the Toronto Maple Leafs has revolved around players who grew up fans of the team this was not always the case. For many years the Maple Leafs did not have players who were from Toronto or who grew up fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This was always thought to be a coincidence however a new interview with former NHL forward and current TNT analyst Anson Carter confirmed that this was in fact not a coincidence. <h3>Former NHLer Anson Carter reveals former Maple Leafs GM refused to sign Toronto natives</h3> In a new interview with TNT analyst Anson Carter, the topic of the Toronto Maple Leafs came up. Carter was asked if he ever had a potential opportunity to sign in Toronto and play for his hometown team the Toronto Maple Leafs. According to Carter he at multiple points wanted to sign with the Maple Leafs however former Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. refused to sign players with connections to Toronto. Instead, the Maple Leafs decided to sign former first-overall pick Eric Lindros to the roster. I tried to get to Toronto several times, and one time I came close; it was John Ferguson Jr., he was the GM. I tried really hard to come to Toronto but they signed the 'Big E' instead (Eric Lindros) so I went to Vancouver. Carter continued and said that he believes the reason for the Maple Leafs staying away from Toronto-based players was out of fear they would become bigger and more important than the team as a whole. For years, the Maple Leafs did not want to have local guys play in Toronto. I think there was an internal fear that any success for a local kid who played for the Leafs, they would become bigger than their team. Now of course this has all changed with several big time local products becoming stars for the Maple Leafs including Mitch Marner who Carter applauded for handling the pressure of that role. It's why I commend guys like Mitch Marner who grew up being a Leafs fan and playing very well for the Leafs. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/1866988837307548043'> </a></blockquote></div> Clearly, it seems the Maple Leafs' former regime had the wrong idea when it comes to signing hometown talent and now the current front office is taking in the benefits of Toronto kids' passion for the team. It will be interesting to see if under Craig Berube the Maple Leafs can succeed with local products like Marner and Tavares at the forefront.