1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 63rd season of the franchise, 53rd season as the Maple Leafs. In July 1979, Leafs owner Harold Ballard brought back Punch Imlach, a longtime friend, as general manager. Imlach traded Lanny McDonald to undermine team captain Darryl Sittler's influence on the team.[1] The McDonald trade sent the Leafs into a downward spiral. They finished five games under .500 and only made the playoffs due to the presence of the Quebec Nordiques, a refugee from the WHA, in the Adams Division.
1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs | |
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Division | 4th Adams |
Conference | 5th Wales |
1979–80 record | 35-40-5 |
Goals for | 304 |
Goals against | 327 |
Team information | |
General Manager | Punch Imlach |
Coach | Floyd Smith Dick Duff Punch Imlach |
Captain | Darryl Sittler (Oct-Dec) vacant (Dec-Apr) |
Alternate captains | None |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Darryl Sittler (40) |
Assists | Darryl Sittler (57) |
Points | Darryl Sittler (97) |
Penalty minutes | Tiger Williams (197) |
Wins | Mike Palmateer (16) |
Goals against average | Jiri Crha (3.61) |
Offseason
NHL draft
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Laurie Boschman (C) | ![]() | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
3 | 51 | Normand Aubin (C) | ![]() | Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL) |
4 | 72 | Vincent Tremblay (G) | ![]() | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
5 | 93 | Frank Nigro (C) | ![]() | London Knights (OMJHL) |
6 | 114 | Bill McCreary Jr. (RW) | ![]() | Colgate University (ECAC) |
Regular season
The 1979-80 season marked the dismantling of a promising hockey team. The Maple Leafs had stars such as Darryl Sittler, Mike Palmateer, Lanny McDonald, Tiger Williams, Borje Salming and Ian Turnbull. In previous years, the Leafs were always one of the top teams in the league but could not beat the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. Leafs' owner Harold Ballard fired General Manager Jim Gregory and Head Coach Roger Neilson.[2] After unsuccessfully attempting to hire both former Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry (who became head coach of the Colorado Rockies) and former Montreal Canadiens head coach Scotty Bowman (who became head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres), Ballard brought back Punch Imlach, who had been the Leafs' coach and general manager when they last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, to be the team's new GM. Imlach subsequently hired Floyd Smith, a former Leaf player who had previously coached for Imlach when he was GM of the Sabres, to be the Leafs' new head coach.
By November 1979, tensions between Imlach and Sittler mounted as Sittler publicly aired his grievances. An article was featured in the Globe and Mail by James Christie, titled Darryl Sittler drops the Gloves.[3] Sittler was unhappy that Imlach publicly criticized him and Mike Palmateer. Another point of tension for Sittler was the fact that Imlach placed Lanny McDonald and Ian Turnbull on waivers.
On December 13, 1979, Imlach announced that Carl Brewer was making another comeback in the NHL.[4] Brewer would play for the New Brunswick Hawks, the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate. In Brewer's first game in Moncton, New Brunswick, King Clancy and Johnny Bower showed up to watch him play.[2]
Brewer returned to the Maple Leafs on December 26, 1979, for the Maple Leafs game against the Washington Capitals. Many players on the Leafs felt that Brewer was a spy for Imlach.[2] In Brewer's first game, many of his teammates were openly hostile to him. Brewer's defense partner was Borje Salming, and Salming refused to pass Brewer the puck.[5] During the season, Brewer would only play in twenty contests.
Season standings
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
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Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 47 | 17 | 16 | 318 | 201 | 110 |
Boston Bruins | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | 310 | 234 | 105 |
Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 311 | 253 | 88 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 304 | 327 | 75 |
Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 25 | 44 | 11 | 248 | 313 | 61 |
[6]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Schedule and results
1979–80 Game log | |
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October
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November
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December
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January
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February
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March
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April
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1979–80 Schedule |
Transactions
- On December 29, 1979: The Maple Leafs traded Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville to the Colorado Rockies for Wilf Paiement and Pat Hickey.[7]
- February 18, 1980: Tiger Williams was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Rick Vaive and Bill Derlago.
Player statistics
Regular season
- Scoring
Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Darryl Sittler | C | 73 | 40 | 57 | 97 | 62 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 5 |
Borje Salming | D | 74 | 19 | 52 | 71 | 94 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
John Anderson | RW | 74 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
Wilf Paiement | RW | 41 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 72 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
Laurie Boschman | C | 80 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 78 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Rocky Saganiuk | RW/C | 75 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 52 | -5 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
Walt McKechnie | C | 54 | 7 | 36 | 43 | 4 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Tiger Williams | LW | 55 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 197 | -13 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
Ian Turnbull | D | 75 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 90 | -23 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Pat Hickey | LW | 45 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
Dan Maloney | LW | 71 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 102 | -13 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Lanny McDonald | RW | 35 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 10 | -1 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
Paul Gardner | C | 45 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 10 | -8 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Ron Ellis | RW | 59 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 6 | -9 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Terry Martin | LW | 37 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Dave Burrows | D | 80 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bill Derlago | C | 23 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 13 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Rick Vaive | RW | 22 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 77 | -4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Jerry Butler | RW | 55 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 29 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Greg Hotham | D | 46 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 10 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Richard Mulhern | D | 26 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dave Farrish | D | 20 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mike Kaszycki | C | 25 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dave Hutchison | D | 31 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joel Quenneville | D | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Carl Brewer | D | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bob Stephenson | RW | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pat Boutette | C/RW | 32 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 17 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mike Palmateer | G | 38 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pat Ribble | D | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ron Wilson | D | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mark Kirton | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Larry Carriere | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Paul Harrison | G | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bruce Boudreau | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jiri Crha | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jimmy Jones | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Daryl Maggs | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Curt Ridley | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vincent Tremblay | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Goaltending
Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
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Mike Palmateer | 2039 | 38 | 16 | 14 | 3 | 125 | 3.68 | 2 |
Paul Harrison | 1492 | 30 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 110 | 4.42 | 0 |
Jiri Crha | 830 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 50 | 3.61 | 0 |
Vincent Tremblay | 329 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5.11 | 0 |
Curt Ridley | 110 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4.36 | 0 |
Team: | 4800 | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 321 | 4.01 | 2 |
Playoffs
- Scoring
Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
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Darryl Sittler | C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Ron Wilson | D | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Ian Turnbull | D | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Terry Martin | LW | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
John Anderson | RW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Laurie Boschman | C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Borje Salming | D | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Wilf Paiement | RW | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rick Vaive | RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dave Burrows | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Larry Carriere | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jiri Crha | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bill Derlago | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ron Ellis | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dave Farrish | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pat Hickey | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mike Kaszycki | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Richard Mulhern | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mike Palmateer | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rocky Saganiuk | RW/C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Goaltending
Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
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Jiri Crha | 121 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 4.96 | 0 |
Mike Palmateer | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 0 |
Team: | 181 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 5.64 | 0 |
- Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
- Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;
Roster
1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||
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Goaltenders
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Defensemen
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Wingers
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Centres
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Playoffs
Date | Opponent | Score | Series lead |
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April 8, 1980 | at Minnesota North Stars | 3 - 6 | Stars lead series 1-0 |
April 9, 1980 | at Minnesota North Stars | 2 - 7 | Stars lead series 2-0 |
April 11, 1980 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 - 4 | Stars win series 3-0 |
Transactions
The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1979-80 season.
Trades
Waivers
February 10, 1980 | From Los Angeles Kings Richard Mulhern |
Free agents
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Awards and records
- Borje Salming, runner-up, Norris Trophy[10]
- Borje Salming was voted to the Second Team All-Stars (a rarity in that usually the runner-up for the Norris joins the Norris winner on the First Team All-Stars).
Farm teams
The Maple Leafs were affiliated with the New Brunswick Hawks of the American Hockey League.
References
Notes
- "Lanny McDonald trade has Sittler in tears," Jim Kernaghan, Toronto Star, December 29, 1979, p. 1.
- Foster, p. 103
- Foster, p. 102.
- Foster, p. 101.
- Foster, p. 104.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
- Legends of Hockey - Spotlight - One on One with Lanny McDonald Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
- "1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- Toronto Maple Leafs 1979-80 Game Log and Scores Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- NHL Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222.
Bibliography
- The Power of Two: Carl Brewer's Battle with Hockey's Power Brokers, Susan Foster with notes by Carl Brewer, Fenn Publishing Company Ltd., Bolton, Ontario, 2006, ISBN 978-1-55168-313-3 (paperback).
- National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.