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Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The organization is officially known as the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club.

Contents

Franchise history

Logo of the Toronto Arenas
Enlarge
Logo of the Toronto Arenas

Early years (1917-26)

The NHL was formed in 1917 for one reason -to kick out Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts franchise of the forerunner National Hockey Association. Livingstone was accused of creating unfair advantages for himself and his team. However, the other three charter NHL teams--the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Wanderers--believed it would be unthinkable not to have a team in Toronto. They decided to grant Toronto a new team, the Arenas (run by the Arena Gardens). However, Livingstone would still get to lease his players to the team. The Arenas won the Stanley Cup in the NHL's inaugural season.

The team would be renamed the St. Patricks in the midst of a losing stretch in 1919, but would once again reach the Cup in 1922, with Babe Dye (who had an overtime winner in game two and four goals in the deciding fifth game) being the team's hero. They would narrowly miss the playoffs in 1923, despite Dye's 26 goals in only 22 games.

The Conn Smythe era

In February 1927, Conn Smythe purchased the St. Pats and renamed them the Maple Leafs. Smythe had put together the New York Rangers in 1926, but was fired before the season started. He kept the St. Pats' green uniforms for one year as a nod to the old team's fans. However, the next season, the Leafs appeared for the first time in the blue and white sweaters they have worn ever since. While the Leafs say that blue represents the Canadian skies and white represents snow, it is also true that top-level Toronto teams have worn blue since the CFL's Toronto Argonauts adopted blue as their primary colour in 1873.

After four more lackluster seasons, Smythe and the Leafs debuted their new arena, Maple Leaf Gardens, in November 1931, and their Kid Line (Busher Jackson, Charlie Conacher, and Joe Primeau), which would propel them to Toronto's third Cup victory during the first season in their new digs. They would go the distance in the semi-finals against the Boston Bruins in 1932, winning in the sixth overtime of the final game, but would be overwhelmed in the Stanley Cup finals by the New York Rangers.

Maple Leafs logo from 1939-1966 (now used as alternate logo)
Enlarge
Maple Leafs logo from 1939-1966 (now used as alternate logo)

The Leafs' star forward, Ace Bailey, was nearly killed in 1933 when Boston Bruins' defenceman Eddie Shore checked him from behind into the boards. Defenceman Red Horner was able to knock Shore out with a punch, but it was too late and Bailey's career was over. Undeterred, the Leafs would reach the finals five more times in the next seven years, but would not win, bowing out to the now-defunct Montreal Maroons, the Detroit Red Wings in 1936, the Chicago Blackhawks in 1938, the Boston Bruins in 1939, and the New York Rangers in 1940.

They looked sure to suffer a similar fate in 1942, down three games to none in a best-of-seven final in 1942 against the Detroit Red Wings. Fourth-line forward Don Metz would galvanize the team, coming from nowhere to score a hat trick in game 4 and the game-winning goal in game 5, with the Leafs winning both times. Captain Syl Apps, Sr. had won the Lady Byng Trophy that season, not taking one penalty and finishing his ten-season career with an average of 5.6 penalty minutes a season. Goalie Turk Broda would shut out the Wings in game 6, and Sweeney Schriner would score two goals in the third period to win the seventh game 3-1. It was the first time a major pro sports team came back from behind 3-0 to win a best-of-seven championship series.

Three years later, with their heroes from 1942 dwindling (due to either age, health, or the war), the Leafs turned to lesser-known players like goalie Frank McCool and blueliner Babe Pratt. They would upset the Detroit Red Wings in the 1945 finals.

The Habs would be the Leafs' nemesis two years later when they met in the 1947 finals. Ted "Teeder" Kennedy would score the game-winning goal late in game 6 to win the Leafs their first of three straight Cups -- the first time any NHL team had accomplished that feat. It may have been four straight (or even five, considering what happened in 1951), had the Red Wings' Leo Reise not scored in sudden-death of game 7 of the Detroit-Toronto semi-final series in 1950.

The Leafs and Habs would meet once again in the finals in 1951, with all five games going to overtime. Max Bentley scored with 32 seconds left in the third period of game 5 to send it to an extra period, and defenceman Bill Barilko, who had scored only six goals in the regular season, scored the game-winner to win Toronto their fourth Cup in five years. Barilko's glory was short-lived: He disappeared in a plane crash near Timmins, Ontario barely four months after that historic moment. Barilko's legacy is still remembered over 50 years later, and the band The Tragically Hip's "Fifty Mission Cap" is based on his plight.

The last great Leafs teams

Toronto was unable to match up with their Cup-winning teams of the late 40's and early 50's for a long time, and stronger teams like the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens won the cup year-after-year. They did not win another Stanley Cup until 1962, ironically the same year that Barilko's remains were discovered.

The Leafs were able to reel off three straight Stanley Cup victories from 1962 to 1964, with the help of Hall of Famers Frank Mahovlich, Red Kelly, Johnny Bower, Dave Keon, Andy Bathgate and Tim Horton.

1967: Frank Mahovlich and Red Kelly celebrate the Leafs last Stanley Cup
1967: Frank Mahovlich and Red Kelly celebrate the Leafs last Stanley Cup

In 1967, the Leafs and Habs met in the Cup finals for the last time. Montreal was considered to be a heavy favourite as analysts said that the Leafs were just a bunch of has-beens. But Bob Pulford scored the double-overtime winner in game 3, Jim Pappin got the game winner in game 6, and Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs as the Maple Leafs won in six games. That showed everybody that experience can win Stanley Cups. The Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup, or even been to the finals, since that year, while Montreal would churn out eleven Cup victories during the Leafs' now-39-year drought.

The Ballard Years

During the 1970s, the Leafs, led by a group of stars such as Darryl Sittler (the all-time leading scorer for the franchise), Lanny McDonald, Keon, enforcer Dave "Tiger" Williams, and Börje Salming (the first Swede to make a name for himself in the NHL) were able to ice competitive teams for several seasons. On February 7, 1976, in fact, Sittler would score six goals and four assists against the Boston Bruins, posting a now three-decade-long NHL single-game record. But they only once made it past the second round of the playoffs, besting the New York Islanders, a to-be 1980s Stanley Cup dynasty, in the 1978 quarter-finals, only to be swept by their arch-nemesis team, the Montreal Canadiens, in the semi-finals.

The 1980s were dominated by longtime owner Harold Ballard. Ballard was part of a partnership that bought the team from Conn Smythe in 1961 (along with Conn's son Stafford and newspaper baron John Bassett), and won a battle for control of the team in 1971. One of the most detested owners in NHL history, he traded away many of the team's most popular players (including Sittler, McDonald, and Keon). Ballard assumed (correctly, as it turned out) that games at Maple Leaf Gardens would be sellouts regardless of the team's on-ice quality, and thus refused outright to see any point in setting a payroll higher than necessary to be profitable.

The result was a Toronto Maple Leafs team that was barely competitive from 1980 to 1992. In that stretch the Leafs failed to post a winning record, missing the playoffs five times and only finishing above fourth in their division once. They only made it out of the first round once (in 1986, advancing to the division finals), winning only 11 games in seven playoff trips. The Leafs landed several high draft picks, but none of them would pan out, not with Ballard breathing down their necks around. They also didn't retain quality talent scouts since Ballard felt completely selfish, uninterested in dealing with stars who would inevitably demand a high salary. Most high-calibre players weren't interested in coming to Toronto anyway due to the bad reputation Ballard himself relished having. One of the few bright spots during this period was the popular star Wendel Clark. Many fans consider the Ballard era as the darkest period in the franchise's history.

Darryl Sittler, captain of the Leafs in the late Seventies and all-time Toronto scoring leader.
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Darryl Sittler, captain of the Leafs in the late Seventies and all-time Toronto scoring leader.

Resurgence in and after the 1990s

Ballard died in 1990, and Steve Stavro, a reclusive supermarket tycoon, eventually bought the team. After a few more years of rebuilding, in 1993 the Leafs reached the upper echelons of the NHL. Doug Gilmour, who had come over from the Calgary Flames the previous season, scored 32 goals and 127 points to lead the team in scoring. Dave Andreychuk had also come to the Leafs (from the Buffalo Sabres) and would score 25 goals in 31 games, as well as being the league's leading power-play goal scorer. Felix Potvin was solid with a 2.50 goals-against average. Toronto had their highest point total in team history to that date, with 99. The Leafs dispatched the Red Wings in the first round with an overtime winner in game seven, then won the Norris Division final by winning over the St. Louis Blues.

With Montreal facing the New York Islanders in the Wales Conference finals, Canadians were once again dreaming of a Montreal-Toronto clash for the Cup as the Leafs faced the Los Angeles Kings in the Campbell Conference Final. The Leafs were up 3-2 in the series, but lost game 6 in a game that will go down in infamy for Leafs fans: many believe that a missed high sticking call on Gilmour cost them the game. Wayne Gretzky's hat trick in game 7 put a damper on that though, as the Kings moved on to the finals.

Those hoping for an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final in 1993 had to make do with an all-Canadian Western Conference final (newly renamed from the Campbell Conference) in 1994. The Leafs, however, were no match for the Vancouver Canucks, losing in five games.

After two years out of the playoffs in the late 1990s, the Leafs made another charge in the 1999 playoffs, moving out of Maple Leaf Gardens and into the new Air Canada Centre. Mats Sundin, who joined the team from the Quebec Nordiques in 1994, had one of his most productive seasons, scoring 31 goals and totaling 83 points. Sergei Berezin scored 37 goals, Curtis Joseph won 35 games with a 2.56 GAA average, and enforcer Tie Domi racked up 198 penalty minutes. The Leafs eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but lost in five games to the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Maple Leafs would reach the second round in both 2000 and 2001, losing both times to the New Jersey Devils, who would make the Stanley Cup Finals both seasons. In 2002, they would dispatch the Islanders and Ottawa Senators in the first two rounds, but would lose to the cinderella Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference finals. The 2002 season was particularly impressive in that the Leafs had many of their better players sidelined by injuries against the Islanders and Senators, and managed to make it to the conference finals with thanks to the skills and determination of lesser-known players. And only because short but hard forward Darcy Tucker has a reputation for checking everything in sight may the Maple Leafs have won the 2002 Islanders series. Tucker was not punished in Game 5 of that series for his blindsiding of Islanders captain Michael Peca. Without Peca, the Islanders couldn't go on properly. Unfortunately, poor Toronto would have to go through that while Sundin was injured in the Eastern Conference Finals. (By the way, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Leafs' conference finals opponent, finally lost the Stanley Cup, despite Erik Cole leading all NHL rookies in the playoffs with six goals and nine points [his three assists weren't leading]).

Curtis Joseph left to go to the Red Wings in the 2002 off-season; the team almost immediately found a replacement in veteran Ed Belfour, who had come over from the Dallas Stars. Belfour could not help their playoff woes in the 2003 playoffs, however, as they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games in the first round. The 2003-04 season started in an uncommon way for the team, as they held their training camp in Sweden, and playing in the NHL Challenge against teams from Sweden and Finland. That year, the Leafs posted a franchise record number of points and finished fourth in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Senators in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, but lost in the second round, this time against the Flyers in six games. The Leafs did not make the playoffs in 2006.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only Original Six franchise to have not reached the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1967 NHL Expansion. The Chicago Blackhawks, the only other Original Six team not to win a Stanley Cup since 1967 (who haven't won since 1961), have been to the Finals three times since then. Toronto's greatest arch-rival, the Montreal Canadiens, have won eleven Cups since the Leafs' last win. Toronto have been swept in the playoffs at total of 6 times throughout the franchise history.

The team's management has been widely criticized for the trading away of vital draft picks in exchange for veteran players throughout the 90's, right up to the lost season of 2004-2005 due to the NHL lockout.

Following

The Leafs are an immensely popular team, and have the largest fan base in the world.[[Citing sources citation needed]] In November 2002, however, the Maple Leafs were named by Sports Illustrated hockey writer Michael Farber as the Most Hated Team in Hockey. Fans of other Canadian NHL teams complain that the team receives excessive coverage on television and in the print media, and that Hockey Night in Canada routinely televises Leaf games against even weak opponents rather than games involving the other Canadian clubs, even when they are more meaningful in terms of playoff implications. He even mentioned that many rival fans believe that the refs were partial towards the Leafs. Games are usually quite heated whenever the Leafs play in other Canadian NHL cities. Some of those other Canadian NHL cities have quite sizable contingents of Leafs fans of their own since the Leafs were the only English Canadian team from 1938 until the Vancouver Canucks joined the league in 1970. Their greatest rival will always be the Montreal Canadiens, given the long history of Original Six matchups between the two clubs. The fact that Montreal is Canada's main French-speaking city also gives the rivalry a nationalistic flair, which is perhaps best captured in the popular Canadian short story, "The Hockey Sweater". The rivalry with the Ottawa Senators has heated up in recent years.

The Leafs' biggest U.S.-based rivals have been the Philadelphia Flyers, who defeated the Leafs in the 2003 and 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Buffalo Sabres have also been cited as notable American rivals of the Leafs, mainly due to Buffalo's close proximity to the Canadian border. If the Maple Leafs are playing the Florida Panthers in December there are usually more Leaf fans in the arena as well due to a large contigent of Torontonians visiting South Florida around that time.

Maple Leafs home games have long been one of the toughest tickets in Canada, even during lean periods. While scalping is technically illegal in Toronto, it is virtually the only way to get into a Leafs home game, even at the much larger Air Canada Centre.

Current developments

On January 28, 2006, the Leafs lost their eighth game in a row, their first streak of that length in 10 years, before head coach Pat Quinn joined the team. That was a home overtime loss versus arch-nemesis Montreal Canadiens, and when Montreal right-winger Alexei Kovalev caught Toronto backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist with an empty-net goal, the game turned by way of Montreal, and eventually Saku Koivu would lock up the Leafs in overtime in a low-shooting game, 4-3. The streak was snapped on January 30, 2006, with a win against the Florida Panthers.

Despite a late-season surge, which included more ice time for goaltender Jean-Sébastien Aubin, the Leafs were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 1998 on April 15, 2006. This marked the first time that the team missed the playoffs under coach Pat Quinn, and as a result he was fired along with assistant coach Rick Ley five days later. Defenceman Aki Berg left the team shortly afterwards. Paul Maurice, the former head coach of the Leafs' AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, and a former NHL head coach who led the Carolina Hurricanes to victory over the Leafs in the 2002 Eastern Conference final was announced as Pat Quinn's replacement[link]. After much speculation on whether Bryan McCabe would remain a Maple Leaf or not, Toronto wrote up a five-year contract on June 1st, which McCabe signed on June 28, which means that McCabe will remain in Toronto for at least half another decade. At the 2006 NHL Entry Draft the Leafs selected Jiri Tlusty with the 13th Overall pick. On the same day, the Leafs traded 2005 first round pick Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Goaltender Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft will fight Aubin and Tellqvist to take over as #1 goaltender.

On June 30, 2006 the Maple Leafs bought out the contract of long-time fan favourite, Tie Domi. In addition to Domi, the Maple Leafs also decided against picking up the option year on the contract of goaltender Ed Belfour. Both players became free agents on July 1, 2006, effectively ending their tenures with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On July 1, 2006 the Maple Leafs signed free agent defencemen Hal Gill (from Boston) and Pavel Kubina (from Tampa Bay) to long term deals.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Season Team Name GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1917-18 Arenas 22 13 9 0
26 108 109
1st (tie) in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1918-19 Arenas 18 5 13 0
10 65 92 262 3rd (last) in NHL Out of playoffs
1919-20 St. Patricks 24 12 12 0
24 119 106 219 3rd in NHL Out of playoffs
1920-21 St. Patricks 24 15 9 0
30 105 100 254 1st in NHL Lost in Finals
1921-22 St. Patricks 24 13 10 1
27 98 97 114 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1922-23 St. Patricks 24 13 10 1
27 82 88 200 3rd in NHL Out of playoffs
1923-24 St. Patricks 24 10 14 0
20 59 85 178 3rd in NHL Out of playoffs
1924-25 St. Patricks 30 19 11 0
38 90 84 249 2nd in NHL Lost NHL Semi-Final
1925-26 St. Patricks 36 12 21 3
27 92 114 325 6th in NHL Out of playoffs
1926-27 St. Pats/Leafs1 44 15 24 5
35 79 94 546 5th (last) in Canadian Out of playoffs
1927-28 Maple Leafs 44 18 18 8
44 89 88 436 4th in Canadian Out of playoffs
1928-29 Maple Leafs 44 21 18 5
47 85 69 541 3rd in Canadian Lost in 2nd round
1929-30 Maple Leafs 44 17 21 6
40 116 124 613 4th in Canadian Out of playoffs
1930-31 Maple Leafs 44 22 13 9
53 118 99 540 2nd in Canadian Lost in 1st round
1931-32 Maple Leafs 48 23 18 7
53 155 127 625 2nd in Canadian Won Stanley Cup
1932-33 Maple Leafs 48 24 18 6
54 119 111 622 1st in Canadian Lost in finals
1933-34 Maple Leafs 48 26 13 9
61 174 119 529 1st in Canadian Lost Semi-Final
1934-35 Maple Leafs 48 30 14 4
64 157 111 444 1st in Canadian Lost in finals
1935-36 Maple Leafs 48 23 19 6
52 126 106 579 2nd in Canadian Lost in finals
1936-37 Maple Leafs 48 22 21 5
49 119 115 371 3rd in Canadian Lost Quarter Finals
1937-38 Maple Leafs 48 24 15 9
57 151 127 404 1st in Canadian Lost in finals
1938-39 Maple Leafs 48 19 20 9
47 114 107 370 3rd in NHL Lost in finals
1939-40 Maple Leafs 48 25 17 6
56 134 110 485 3rd in NHL Lost in finals
1940-41 Maple Leafs 48 28 14 6
62 145 99 306 2nd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1941-42 Maple Leafs 48 27 18 3
57 158 136 341 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1942-43 Maple Leafs 50 22 19 9
53 198 159 431 3rd in NHL Lost Final
1943-44 Maple Leafs 50 23 23 4
50 214 174 303 3rd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1944-45 Maple Leafs 50 24 22 4
52 183 161 317 3rd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1945-46 Maple Leafs 50 19 24 7
45 174 185 247 5th in NHL Out of playoffs
1946-47 Maple Leafs 60 31 19 10
72 209 172 669 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1947-48 Maple Leafs 60 32 15 13
77 182 143 758 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1948-49 Maple Leafs 60 22 25 13
57 147 161 706 4th in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1949-50 Maple Leafs 70 31 27 12
74 176 173 804 3rd in NHL Lost in 1st round
1950-51 Maple Leafs 70 41 16 13
95 212 138 823 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1951-52 Maple Leafs 70 29 25 16
74 168 157 841 3rd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1952-53 Maple Leafs 70 27 30 13
67 156 167 812 5th in NHL Out of playoffs
1953-54 Maple Leafs 70 32 24 14
78 152 131 1022 3rd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1954-55 Maple Leafs 70 24 24 22
70 147 135 990 3rd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1955-56 Maple Leafs 70 24 33 13
61 153 181 1051 4th in NHL Out of playoffs
1956-57 Maple Leafs 70 21 34 15 -- 57 174 192 829 5th in NHL Out of playoffs
1957-58 Maple Leafs 70 21 38 11
53 192 226 861 6th (last) in NHL Out of playoffs
1958-59 Maple Leafs 70 27 32 11
65 189 201 846 4th in NHL Lost in finals
1959-60 Maple Leafs 70 35 26 9
79 199 195 859 2nd in NHL Lost in finals
1960-61 Maple Leafs 70 39 19 12
90 234 176 844 2nd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1961-62 Maple Leafs 70 37 22 11
85 232 180 762 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1962-63 Maple Leafs 70 35 23 12
82 221 180 816 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1963-64 Maple Leafs 70 33 25 12
78 192 172 928 3rd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1964-65 Maple Leafs 70 30 26 14
74 204 173 1068 4th in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1965-66 Maple Leafs 70 34 25 11
79 208 187 811 3rd in NHL Lost Semi-Final
1966-67 Maple Leafs 70 32 27 11
75 204 211 736 3rd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
1967-68 Maple Leafs 74 33 31 10
76 209 176 634 5th in East Out of playoffs
1968-69 Maple Leafs 76 35 26 15 -- 85 234 217 961 4th in East Lost Quarter-Final
1969-70 Maple Leafs 76 29 34 13
71 222 242 898 6th (last) in East Out of playoffs
1970-71 Maple Leafs 78 37 33 8
82 248 211 1133 4th in East Lost Quarter-Final
1971-72 Maple Leafs 78 33 31 14
80 209 208 887 4th in East Lost Quarter Final
1972-73 Maple Leafs 78 27 41 10
64 247 279 716 6th in East Out of playoffs
1973-74 Maple Leafs 78 35 27 16
86 274 230 903 4th in East Lost Quarter-Final
1974-75 Maple Leafs 80 31 33 16
78 280 309 1079 3rd in Adams Lost Quarter-Final
1975-76 Maple Leafs 80 34 31 15
83 294 276 1368 3rd in Adams Lost Quarter-Final
1976-77 Maple Leafs 80 33 32 15
81 301 285 1200 3rd in Adams Lost Quarter-Final
1977-78 Maple Leafs 80 41 29 10
92 271 237 1258 3rd in Admas Lost Semi-Final
1978-79 Maple Leafs 80 34 33 13
81 267 252 1440 3rd in Adams Lost Quarter-Final
1979-80 Maple Leafs 80 35 40 5
75 304 327 1158 4th in Adams Lost Prelim. Round
1980-81 Maple Leafs 80 28 37 15
71 322 367 1830 5th (last) in Adams Lost Prelim. Round
1981-82 Maple Leafs 80 20 44 16
56 298 380 1888 5th in Norris Out of playoffs
1982-83 Maple Leafs 80 28 40 12
68 293 330 1481 3rd in Norris Lost 1st round
1983-84 Maple Leafs 80 26 45 9
61 303 387 1682 5th (last) in Norris Out of playoffs
1984-85 Maple Leafs 80 20 52 8
48 253 358 1627 5th (last) in Norris Out of playoffs
1985-86 Maple Leafs 80 25 48 7
57 311 386 1716 4th in Norris Lost Norris Final
1986-87 Maple Leafs 80 32 42 6
70 286 319 1827 4th in Norris Lost Norris Final
1987-88 Maple Leafs 80 21 49 10
52 273 345 1782 4th in Norris Lost in 1st round
1988-89 Maple Leafs 80 28 46 6
62 259 342 1740 5th (last) in Norris Out of playoffs
1989-90 Maple Leafs 80 38 38 4
80 337 358 2419 3rd in Norris Lost Preliminary
1990-91 Maple Leafs 80 23 46 11
57 241 318 1962 5th (last) in Norris Out of playoffs
1991-92 Maple Leafs 80 30 43 7
67 234 294 1734 5th (last) in Norris Out of playoffs
1992-93 Maple Leafs 84 44 29 11
99 288 241 1815 3rd in Norris Lost in Conference Finals
1993-94 Maple Leafs 84 43 29 12
98 280 243 1877 2nd in Central Lost in Conference Finals
1994-952 Maple Leafs 48 21 19 8
50 135 146 744 4th in Central Lost in 1st round
1995-96 Maple Leafs 82 34 36 12
80 247 252 1742 3rd in Central Lost in 1st round
1996-97 Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8
68 230 273 1331 6th (last) in Central Out of playoffs
1997-98 Maple Leafs 82 30 43 9
69 194 237 1481 6th (last) in Central Out of playoffs
1998-99 Maple Leafs 82 45 30 7
97 268 231 1095 2nd in Northeast Lost in Conference Finals
1999-00 Maple Leafs 82 45 27 7 3 100 246 222 1103 1st in Northeast Lost in 2nd round
2000-01 Maple Leafs 82 37 29 11 5 90 232 207 1430 3rd in Northeast Lost in 2nd round
2001-02 Maple Leafs 82 43 25 10 4 100 249 207 1212 2nd in Northeast Lost in Conference Finals
2002-03 Maple Leafs 82 44 28 7 3 98 236 208 1390 2nd in Northeast Lost in 1st round
2003-04 Maple Leafs 82 45 24 10 3 103 242 204 1452 2nd in Northeast Lost in 2nd Round
2004-053 Maple Leafs -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
--
2005-064 Maple Leafs 82 41 33 -- 8 90 257 270 1291 4th in Northeast Out of Playoffs

Season Team Name GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs

Grand Totals Maple Leafs 5610 2447 2352 783 25 5708 17384 17251 81703
--

1 In February, 1927, Conn Smythe, the new owner of the team, changed the team name and logo from "St. Patricks" to "Maple Leafs".
2 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.
3 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
4 As of this season, games remaining tied after overtime are decided by shootout.

Notable players

Current squad

As of July 17, 2006 [link] {| !colspan=6 |Goaltenders |- bgcolor="#dddddd" !width=5%|Number !width=5%| !!width=15%|Player !width=16%|Catches !width=9%|Acquired !width=37%|Place of Birth |-

|- bgcolor="#eeeeee" |align=center|1 |align=center| |Andrew Raycroft |align=center|L |align=center|2006 |Belleville, Ontario |-

|- bgcolor="#eeeeee" |align=center|30 |align=center| |Jean-Sébastien Aubin |align=center|R |align=center|2004 |Montreal, Quebec |-

|- bgcolor="#eeeeee" |align=center|32 |align=center| |Mikael Tellqvist |align=center|L |align=center|2000 |Sundbyberg, Sweden |-

Defencemen
Number

Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
15 Tomáš Kaberle - A L 1996 Rakovník, Czechoslovakia

24 Bryan McCabe - A L 2001 St. Catharines, Ontario

25 Hal Gill L 2006 Concord, Massachusetts

45 Carlo Colaiacovo L 2001 Toronto, Ontario

56 Andy Wozniewski L 2003 Buffalo Grove, Illinois

- Pavel Kubina R 2006 Celadna, Czechoslovakia

Forwards
Number

Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
3 Wade Belak R RW 2001 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

10 Alexander Steen L C 2002 Winnipeg, Manitoba

13 Mats Sundin - C R C 1994 Bromma, Sweden

37 Mike Peca R C 2006 Toronto, Ontario

14 Matt Stajan L C 2002 Mississauga, Ontario

16 Darcy Tucker - A L LW 2000 Castor, Alberta

18 Chad Kilger L LW 2004 Cornwall, Ontario

23 Alexei Ponikarovsky L LW 1998 Kiev, U.S.S.R.

42 Kyle Wellwood R C 2001 Old Castle, Ontario

46 Ben Ondrus R RW 2003 Sherwood Park, Alberta

80 Nik Antropov L C 1998 Ust-Kamenogorsk, U.S.S.R.

92 Jeff O'Neill R RW 2005 Richmond Hill, Ontario

- Bates Battaglia L LW 2005 Chicago, Illinois

- Erik Westrum L C 2006 Minneapolis, Minnesota


Team captains


Retired numbers

The Leafs have a policy of retiring numbers only for players "who have made a significant contribution to the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and have experienced a career-ending incident while a member of the Maple Leaf team".[link][link] Barilko (whose career ended with death) and Bailey (whose career ended with a severe head injury) dubiously met the criteria. These two numbers were not officially retired until October 17, 1992. Ron Ellis received permission from Bailey, by the time of his career the Leafs' Director of Scouting, to wear number 6.

Honoured numbers

In 1993, the Leafs began a policy of "Honoured Numbers" for their greatest stars:

During the 2005-06 season, the only one of these numbers that was worn by a Leaf player was number 10, by Alexander Steen, son of Thomas Steen, whose number 25 was retired by the Winnipeg Jets (now the Phoenix Coyotes).

First round draft picks


Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in the history of the Maple Leafs (totals with the Toronto St. Pats and Toronto Arenas are included). Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points * = Active Player
Player POS GP G A Pts
Darryl Sittler C 844 389 527 916
Dave Keon C 1062 365 493 858
*Mats Sundin C 832 361 472 833
Borje Salming D 1099 148 620 768
George Armstrong RW 1187 296 417 713
Ron Ellis RW 1034 332 308 640
Frank Mahovlich LW 720 296 303 599
Bob Pulford LW 947 251 312 563
Ted Kennedy C 696 231 329 560
Rick Vaive RW 534 299 238 537

NHL Awards and Trophies

Stanley Cup Prince of Wales Trophy Hart Memorial Trophy Vezina Trophy Conn Smythe Trophy Calder Memorial Trophy Frank J. Selke Trophy King Clancy Memorial Trophy Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Jack Adams Award Lester Patrick Trophy

Toronto Maple Leafs Individual Records

See also

External links

National Hockey League 1917 to present
Current teams : Anaheim | Atlanta | Boston | Buffalo | Calgary | Carolina | Chicago | Colorado | Columbus | Dallas | Detroit | Edmonton | Florida | Los Angeles | Minnesota | Montreal | Nashville | New Jersey | NY Islanders | NY Rangers | Ottawa | Philadelphia | Phoenix | Pittsburgh | San Jose | St. Louis | Tampa Bay | Toronto | Vancouver | Washington
Trophies and awards: Stanley Cup | Prince of Wales | Clarence S. Campbell | Presidents' Trophy | Adams | Art Ross | Calder | Conn Smythe | Crozier | Hart | Jennings | King Clancy | Lady Byng | Masterton | Norris | Patrick | Pearson | Plus/Minus | Rocket Richard | Selke | Vezina

 

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