1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's 82nd season. Two moves occurred this season. First, the club moved from the Western to the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Secondly, the club moved from Maple Leaf Gardens to the new Air Canada Centre. Toronto qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Buffalo Sabres.

1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division	2nd Northeast
Conference	4th Eastern
1998–99 record	45–30–7
Home record	23–13–5
Road record	22–17–2
Goals for	268
Goals against	231
Team information
General Manager	Ken Dryden
Coach	Pat Quinn
Captain	Mats Sundin
Arena	Maple Leaf Gardens and Air Canada Centre
Team leaders
Goals	Sergei Berezin (37)
Assists	Mats Sundin (52)
Points	Mats Sundin (83)
Penalty minutes	Tie Domi (198)
Plus/minus	Alexander Karpovtsev (+39)
Wins	Curtis Joseph (35)
Goals against average	Curtis Joseph (2.56)

Off-season

The Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the Central Division of the Western Conference to the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference.

Regular season

The 1998–99 season was a tremendous improvement for the Maple Leafs over the 1997–98 season and the team got plenty of help from its new members, including Bryan Berard, Sylvain Cote, Curtis Joseph, Alexander Karpovtsev (who led the NHL in plus-minus with +39, but was not eligible for the NHL Plus-Minus Award because he played just 58 games), Yanic Perreault and Steve Thomas (who finished second on the team in points, with 73). Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Pat Quinn replaced Mike Murphy as Toronto's head coach. Six Maple Leafs scored 20 or more goals. Toronto set a club record for most regular season wins (45) and earned 97 points to finish second in the Northeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. They led the NHL in most goals for, with 268, and were the only team to score 200 or more even-strength goals.[1]

On November 12, 1998, the Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 10–3 away.[2] Mats Sundin recorded a hat trick in the game, which was the first regular season game in which the Leafs had scored ten goals since February 17, 1989, when they defeated the New York Rangers 10–6 away.[3]

Maple Leaf Gardens

• On February 13, 1999, the Maple Leafs ended a 67-year tradition when they played their last game at Maple Leaf Gardens. The team lost 6–2 to the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Maple Leaf Doug Gilmour scored a fluke goal in that game and notorious tough guy Bob Probert scored the final NHL goal in Gardens history in the game's third period. During the emotional post-game ceremony, legendary Canadian singer Anne Murray performed "The Maple Leaf Forever" while wearing a Toronto jersey.

Air Canada Centre

• The first Maple Leafs home game took place on February 20, 1999, against the Montreal Canadiens, won by the Leafs 3–2 on an overtime goal by Steve Thomas.

Season standings

Northeast Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	2	Ottawa Senators	82	44	23	15	239	179	892	103
2	4	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	45	30	7	268	231	1095	97
3	6	Boston Bruins	82	39	30	13	214	181	1182	91
4	7	Buffalo Sabres	82	37	28	17	207	175	1561	91
5	11	Montreal Canadiens	82	32	39	11	184	209	1299	75

[4]

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference[5]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	y – Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	23	15	239	179	103
3	y – Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	34	30	18	210	202	86
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	30	7	268	231	97
5	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	214	181	91
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	28	17	207	175	91
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	ATL	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	34	18	210	228	78
10	New York Rangers	ATL	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	32	39	11	184	209	75
12	Washington Capitals	SE	82	31	45	6	200	218	68
13	New York Islanders	ATL	82	24	48	10	194	244	58
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	19	54	9	179	292	47

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 10, 1998	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	1–0–0
2	W	October 13, 1998	3–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	2–0–0
3	W	October 16, 1998	7–3	@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)	3–0–0
4	L	October 17, 1998	1–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	3–1–0
5	T	October 19, 1998	2–2 OT	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	3–1–1
6	W	October 23, 1998	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	4–1–1
7	W	October 24, 1998	6–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	5–1–1
8	L	October 26, 1998	0–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	5–2–1
9	L	October 30, 1998	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	5–3–1
10	L	October 31, 1998	3–6	Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	5–4–1
11	W	November 4, 1998	3–0	Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	6–4–1
12	L	November 5, 1998	1–4	@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)	6–5–1
13	T	November 7, 1998	6–6 OT	New York Rangers (1998–99)	6–5–2
14	L	November 9, 1998	1–3	New York Islanders (1998–99)	6–6–2
15	W	November 11, 1998	3–2	Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	7–6–2
16	W	November 12, 1998	10–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	8–6–2
17	W	November 14, 1998	2–1	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	9–6–2
18	L	November 18, 1998	1–4	@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)	9–7–2
19	L	November 20, 1998	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	9–8–2
20	W	November 21, 1998	2–1	Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	10–8–2
21	W	November 23, 1998	3–2	Calgary Flames (1998–99)	11–8–2
22	W	November 25, 1998	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	12–8–2
23	L	November 27, 1998	3–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	12–9–2
24	W	November 28, 1998	3–2 OT	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	13–9–2
25	W	December 2, 1998	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	14–9–2
26	W	December 5, 1998	4–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	15–9–2
27	L	December 7, 1998	2–6	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	15–10–2
28	W	December 11, 1998	3–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	16–10–2
29	L	December 12, 1998	0–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	16–11–2
30	W	December 16, 1998	5–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	17–11–2
31	W	December 19, 1998	7–4	New York Rangers (1998–99)	18–11–2
32	W	December 21, 1998	7–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	19–11–2
33	L	December 23, 1998	1–5	Dallas Stars (1998–99)	19–12–2
34	L	December 26, 1998	1–2	Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	19–13–2
35	W	December 30, 1998	4–1	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	20–13–2
36	W	December 31, 1998	4–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	21–13–2
37	L	January 2, 1999	2–5	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	21–14–2
38	W	January 4, 1999	5–4 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	22–14–2
39	L	January 7, 1999	1–2	@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)	22–15–2
40	W	January 9, 1999	6–3	Boston Bruins (1998–99)	23–15–2
41	W	January 12, 1999	4–3	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	24–15–2
42	T	January 13, 1999	3–3 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	24–15–3
43	W	January 16, 1999	4–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	25–15–3
44	L	January 18, 1999	2–4	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)	25–16–3
45	W	January 20, 1999	6–4	@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)	26–16–3
46	W	January 21, 1999	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)	27–16–3
47	L	January 28, 1999	0–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	27–17–3
48	W	January 30, 1999	5–3	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	28–17–3
49	W	February 2, 1999	3–0	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	29–17–3
50	L	February 3, 1999	2–5	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	29–18–3
51	W	February 6, 1999	3–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	30–18–3
52	L	February 10, 1999	5–6	Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)	30–19–3
53	L	February 13, 1999	2–6	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	30–20–3
54	T	February 15, 1999	3–3 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	30–20–4
55	W	February 17, 1999	3–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	31–20–4
56	W	February 20, 1999	3–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	32–20–4
57	L	February 22, 1999	3–4	@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)	32–21–4
58	T	February 24, 1999	2–2 OT	Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)	32–21–5
59	W	February 25, 1999	4–1	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	33–21–5
60	W	February 27, 1999	4–1	Florida Panthers (1998–99)	34–21–5
61	L	March 3, 1999	2–5	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	34–22–5
62	W	March 4, 1999	4–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1998–99)	35–22–5
63	L	March 6, 1999	1–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	35–23–5
64	L	March 8, 1999	2–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	35–24–5
65	W	March 9, 1999	6–1	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	36–24–5
66	W	March 11, 1999	2–1	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	37–24–5
67	L	March 13, 1999	1–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	37–25–5
68	L	March 17, 1999	1–4	Boston Bruins (1998–99)	37–26–5
69	W	March 20, 1999	3–1	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	38–26–5
70	L	March 22, 1999	1–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	38–27–5
71	L	March 24, 1999	5–8	San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	38–28–5
72	W	March 26, 1999	7–2	@ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)	39–28–5
73	T	March 27, 1999	2–2 OT	Boston Bruins (1998–99)	39–28–6
74	W	March 31, 1999	6–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	40–28–6
75	W	April 1, 1999	5–1	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	41–28–6
76	W	April 3, 1999	5–1	@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)	42–28–6
77	T	April 5, 1999	2–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1998–99)	42–28–7
78	W	April 7, 1999	4–2	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	43–28–7
79	L	April 8, 1999	1–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	43–29–7
80	W	April 10, 1999	9–1	Florida Panthers (1998–99)	44–29–7
81	W	April 14, 1999	3–2 OT	New York Islanders (1998–99)	45–29–7
82	L	April 17, 1999	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	45–30–7

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mats Sundin	82	31	52	83	58	22	4	0	6
Steve Thomas	78	28	45	73	33	26	11	0	7
Sergei Berezin	76	37	22	59	12	16	9	1	4
Derek King	81	24	28	52	20	15	8	0	4
Igor Korolev	66	13	34	47	46	11	1	0	2
Mike Johnson	79	20	24	44	35	13	5	3	2
Steve Sullivan	63	20	20	40	28	12	4	0	5
Fredrik Modin	67	16	15	31	35	14	1	0	3
Garry Valk	77	8	21	29	53	8	1	0	0
Sylvain Cote	79	5	24	29	28	22	0	0	1
Dmitri Yushkevich	78	6	22	28	88	25	2	1	0
Alexander Karpovtsev	56	2	25	27	52	38	1	0	1
Alyn McCauley	39	9	15	24	2	7	1	0	1
Tie Domi	72	8	14	22	198	5	0	0	1
Tomas Kaberle	57	4	18	22	12	3	0	0	2
Todd Warriner	53	9	10	19	28	-6	1	0	1
Bryan Berard	38	5	14	19	22	7	2	0	2
Yanic Perreault	12	7	8	15	12	10	2	1	2
Jason Smith	60	2	11	13	40	-9	0	0	0
Danny Markov	57	4	8	12	47	5	0	0	0
Yannick Tremblay	35	2	7	9	16	0	0	0	0
Darby Hendrickson	35	2	3	5	30	-4	0	0	0
Curtis Joseph	67	0	5	5	6	0	0	0	0
Kris King	67	2	2	4	105	-16	0	1	1
Ladislav Kohn	16	1	3	4	4	1	0	0	0
Lonny Bohonos	7	3	0	3	4	3	0	0	0
Dallas Eakins	18	0	2	2	24	3	0	0	0
Chris McAllister	20	0	2	2	39	4	0	0	0
Kevyn Adams	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Dahl	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Glenn Healy	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Podollan	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Felix Potvin	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Reese	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Curtis Joseph	4001	67	35	24	7	171	2.56	3	1903	1732	.910
Glenn Healy	546	9	6	3	0	27	2.97	0	257	230	.895
Felix Potvin	299	5	3	2	0	19	3.81	0	142	123	.866
Jeff Reese	106	2	1	1	0	8	4.53	0	51	43	.843
Team:	4952	82	45	30	7	225	2.73	3	2353	2128	.904

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mats Sundin	17	8	8	16	16	3	0	2
Sergei Berezin	17	6	6	12	4	2	0	2
Steve Thomas	17	6	3	9	12	2	0	1
Lonny Bohonos	9	3	6	9	2	0	0	0
Yanic Perreault	17	3	6	9	6	0	0	2
Bryan Berard	17	1	8	9	8	1	0	0
Garry Valk	17	3	4	7	22	0	0	1
Steve Sullivan	13	3	3	6	14	2	0	0
Dmitri Yushkevich	17	1	5	6	22	1	0	0
Danny Markov	17	0	6	6	18	0	0	0
Mike Johnson	17	3	2	5	4	0	0	1
Alexander Karpovtsev	14	1	3	4	12	1	0	0
Derek King	16	1	3	4	4	0	0	0
Sylvain Cote	17	2	1	3	10	0	0	0
Tomas Kaberle	14	0	3	3	2	0	0	0
Kris King	17	1	1	2	25	0	0	0
Kevyn Adams	7	0	2	2	14	0	0	0
Tie Domi	14	0	2	2	24	0	0	0
Adam Mair	5	1	0	1	14	0	0	0
Chris McAllister	6	0	1	1	4	0	0	0
Dallas Eakins	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Glenn Healy	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Curtis Joseph	17	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Ladislav Kohn	2	0	0	0	5	0	0	0
Igor Korolev	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fredrik Modin	8	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
Todd Warriner	9	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Curtis Joseph	1011	17	9	8	41	2.43	1	440	399	.907
Glenn Healy	20	1	0	0	0	0.00	0	5	5	1.000
Team:	1031	17	9	8	41	2.39	1	445	404	.908

[6]

Note:

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;

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1998-99 season.

Trades

July 2, 1998	To Calgary Flames David Cooper	To Toronto Maple Leafs Ladislav Kohn
October 14, 1998	To New York Rangers Mathieu Schneider	To Toronto Maple Leafs Alexander Karpovtsev 4th round pick in 1999 (Mirko Murovic)
January 9, 1999	To New York Islanders Felix Potvin 6th round pick in 1999 (Fedor Fedorov)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Bryan Berard 6th round pick in 1999 (Jan Socher)
February 16, 1999	To Vancouver Canucks Darby Hendrickson	To Toronto Maple Leafs Chris McAllister
February 17, 1999	To Florida Panthers Jeff Ware	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Nemirovsky
March 23, 1999	To Edmonton Oilers Jason Smith	To Toronto Maple Leafs 4th round pick in 1999 (Jonathan Zion) 2nd round pick in 2000 (Kris Vernarsky)
March 23, 1999	To Los Angeles Kings Jason Podollan 3rd round pick in 1999 (Cory Campbell)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Yanic Perreault

Waivers

October 5, 1998

From St. Louis Blues Kevin Dahl

Expansion Draft

June 25, 1999

To Atlanta Thrashers Yannick Tremblay

Free agents

Player Former Team Steve Thomas New Jersey Devils Dallas Eakins Florida Panthers Curtis Joseph Edmonton Oilers Niklas Andersson San Jose Sharks Garry Valk Pittsburgh Penguins Glen Featherstone Chicago Wolves (IHL)

Player New Team Kelly Fairchild Dallas Stars Mike Craig San Jose Sharks Marcel Cousineau New York Islanders Wendel Clark Tampa Bay Lightning Matt Martin Dallas Stars

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Finals

The Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres met in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Maple Leafs were coming off a six-game series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Sabres were coming off a six-game series win themselves, over the Boston Bruins. Toronto was having its best playoff since 1994, when they last made a Conference Final series. Buffalo, meanwhile, was in the third round for the second consecutive year.

With the series victory, the Sabres advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 24 years.

Toronto (4) vs. Buffalo (7)
Date	Away	Home	Score
May 23	Buffalo	Toronto	5 – 4
May 25	Buffalo	Toronto	6 – 3
May 27	Toronto	Buffalo	4 – 2
May 29	Toronto	Buffalo	5 – 2
May 31	Buffalo	Toronto	4 – 2
Buffalo wins series 4–1 and Prince of Wales Trophy

Roster

1998-99 Toronto Maple Leafs
Goaltenders 29 – Felix Potvin  30 – Glenn Healy  31 – Curtis Joseph  35 – Jeff Reese		Defensemen 2 – Dallas Eakins  3 – Sylvain Cote  4 – Kevin Dahl  15 – Tomas Kaberle  25 – Jason Smith  33 – Chris McAllister  34 – Bryan Berard  36 – Dmitri Yushkevich  38 – Yannick Tremblay  52 – Alexander Karpovtsev  55 – Danny Markov		Wingers 7 – Derek King  8 – Todd Warriner  10 – Garry Valk  12 – Kris King  16 – Lonny Bohonos  19 – Fredrik Modin  20 – Mike Johnson  28 – Tie Domi  32 – Steve Thomas  37 – Jason Podollan  39 – Ladislav Kohn  94 – Sergei Berezin		Centres 11 – Steve Sullivan  13 – Mats Sundin  – C 14 – Darby Hendrickson  18 – Alyn McCauley  21 – Adam Mair  22 – Igor Korolev  42 – Kevyn Adams  44 – Yanic Perreault  GM: Ken Dryden Coach: Pat Quinn

Awards and honors

• Curtis Joseph, Runner-up, Vezina Trophy.
• Curtis Joseph, Runner-up, Lester B. Trophy.
• Pat Quinn, Runner-Up, Jack Adams Trophy.[7]

Draft picks

Toronto's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	10	Nik Antropov	Kazakhstan	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan)
2	35	Petr Svoboda	Czech Republic	BK Havlíčkův Brod (Czech Republic)
3	69	Jamie Hodson	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4	87	Alexei Ponikarovsky	Ukraine	Dynamo Moscow-2 (Russia)
5	126	Morgan Warren	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
6	154	Allan Rourke	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
7	181	Jonathan Gagnon	Canada	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
8	215	Dwight Wolfe	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
8	228	Michal Travnicek	Czech Republic	Chemopetrol Litvínov (Czech Republic)
9	236	Sergei Rostov	Russia	Dynamo Moscow-2 (Russia)

References

Bibliography

• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Maple Leafs on Hockey Database

1. https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1999.html
2. https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/199811120CHI.html
3. https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/198902170NYR.html
4. Dinger 2011, p. 155.
5. "1998-1999 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
6. "1998-99 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
7. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.