1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division3rd Adams
Conference4th Wales
1977–78 record41–29–10
Goals for271
Goals against237
Team information
General managerJim Gregory
CoachRoger Neilson
CaptainDarryl Sittler
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsLanny McDonald (47)
AssistsDarryl Sittler (72)
PointsDarryl Sittler (117)
Penalty minutesTiger Williams (351)

The 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 61st season of the franchise, 51st as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs made the playoffs and won two series before losing the semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 11 John Anderson (LW)  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
1 12 Trevor Johansen (D)  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
2 24 Bob Gladney (D)  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHA)
2 29 Rocky Saganiuk (RW)  Canada Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL)
4 65 Dan Eastman (RW)  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
5 83 John Wilson (LW)  Canada Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
6 101 Roy Sommer (LW)  United States Calgary Wranglers (WCHL)
7 119 Lynn Jorgenson (LW)  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
8 134 Kevin Howe (D)  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
9 149 Ray Robertson (D)  Canada St. Lawrence University (ECAC)

Regular season

Darryl Sittler ranked third in the NHL in scoring with 117 points.[1]

Final standings

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Boston Bruins 80 51 18 11 333 218 113
Buffalo Sabres 80 44 19 17 288 215 105
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 41 29 10 271 237 92
Cleveland Barons 80 22 45 13 230 325 57

[2]

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 13, 1977 3–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 0–0–1
2 L October 15, 1977 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 0–1–1
3 W October 19, 1977 5–4 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 1–1–1
4 W October 22, 1977 6–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 2–1–1
5 W October 23, 1977 6–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 3–1–1
6 T October 26, 1977 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 3–1–2
7 W October 29, 1977 7–4 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 4–1–2
8 W November 2, 1977 5–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 5–1–2
9 L November 3, 1977 2–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 5–2–2
10 W November 5, 1977 5–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 6–2–2
11 W November 9, 1977 4–0 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 7–2–2
12 W November 11, 1977 3–1 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 8–2–2
13 L November 12, 1977 0–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 8–3–2
14 W November 16, 1977 5–2 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 9–3–2
15 W November 17, 1977 2–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 10–3–2
16 L November 19, 1977 1–3 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 10–4–2
17 W November 23, 1977 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 11–4–2
18 T November 26, 1977 4–4 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 11–4–3
19 W November 29, 1977 3–2 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 12–4–3
20 L November 30, 1977 3–5 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 12–5–3
21 W December 3, 1977 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 13–5–3
22 L December 4, 1977 1–3 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 13–6–3
23 W December 7, 1977 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 14–6–3
24 W December 9, 1977 3–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 15–6–3
25 W December 10, 1977 3–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 16–6–3
26 W December 14, 1977 3–2 New York Islanders (1977–78) 17–6–3
27 W December 16, 1977 8–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 18–6–3
28 W December 17, 1977 7–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 19–6–3
29 T December 19, 1977 4–4 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 19–6–4
30 L December 21, 1977 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 19–7–4
31 W December 23, 1977 6–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 20–7–4
32 L December 26, 1977 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 20–8–4
33 L December 28, 1977 0–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 20–9–4
34 W December 30, 1977 5–0 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 21–9–4
35 L December 31, 1977 0–3 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 21–10–4
36 W January 4, 1978 5–0 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 22–10–4
37 L January 5, 1978 1–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 22–11–4
38 W January 7, 1978 6–4 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 23–11–4
39 L January 9, 1978 2–5 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 23–12–4
40 W January 11, 1978 4–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 24–12–4
41 L January 13, 1978 2–5 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 24–13–4
42 T January 14, 1978 3–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 24–13–5
43 T January 17, 1978 2–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 24–13–6
44 T January 19, 1978 3–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 24–13–7
45 L January 21, 1978 1–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 24–14–7
46 W January 25, 1978 4–3 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 25–14–7
47 L January 26, 1978 2–4 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 25–15–7
48 W January 28, 1978 7–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 26–15–7
49 T February 1, 1978 2–2 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 26–15–8
50 T February 4, 1978 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 26–15–9
51 T February 5, 1978 3–3 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 26–15–10
52 W February 8, 1978 5–4 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 27–15–10
53 W February 11, 1978 3–2 New York Rangers (1977–78) 28–15–10
54 W February 13, 1978 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 29–15–10
55 L February 15, 1978 2–4 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 29–16–10
56 W February 18, 1978 5–4 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 30–16–10
57 W February 22, 1978 5–3 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 31–16–10
58 W February 25, 1978 4–0 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 32–16–10
59 W February 26, 1978 5–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 33–16–10
60 L February 28, 1978 3–4 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 33–17–10
61 W March 1, 1978 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 34–17–10
62 W March 4, 1978 4–3 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 35–17–10
63 W March 5, 1978 4–1 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 36–17–10
64 L March 8, 1978 1–5 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 36–18–10
65 L March 9, 1978 1–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 36–19–10
66 W March 11, 1978 5–2 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 37–19–10
67 W March 12, 1978 7–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 38–19–10
68 W March 15, 1978 5–2 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 39–19–10
69 L March 18, 1978 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 39–20–10
70 L March 19, 1978 4–6 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 39–21–10
71 L March 22, 1978 2–6 New York Islanders (1977–78) 39–22–10
72 L March 23, 1978 1–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 39–23–10
73 L March 25, 1978 2–5 New York Rangers (1977–78) 39–24–10
74 W March 27, 1978 3–0 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 40–24–10
75 L March 29, 1978 4–7 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 40–25–10
76 W April 1, 1978 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 41–25–10
77 L April 2, 1978 3–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 41–26–10
78 L April 5, 1978 3–6 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 41–27–10
79 L April 8, 1978 1–3 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 41–28–10
80 L April 9, 1978 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 41–29–10

[4]

Playoffs

  • Won preliminary round (2–0) versus Los Angeles Kings
  • Won quarter-finals (4–3) versus New York Islanders
  • Lost semi-finals (4–0) versus Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Darryl Sittler C 80 45 72 117 100 34 14 0 8
Lanny McDonald RW 74 47 40 87 54 34 11 0 5
Borje Salming D 80 16 60 76 70 30 6 0 5
Ian Turnbull D 77 14 47 61 77 6 3 1 3
Ron Ellis RW 80 26 24 50 17 8 3 0 5
Tiger Williams LW 78 19 31 50 351 6 6 0 5
Errol Thompson LW 59 17 22 39 10 17 4 1 2
Pat Boutette C/RW 80 17 19 36 120 0 2 0 1
Bruce Boudreau C 40 11 18 29 12 8 1 0 2
George Ferguson C 73 7 16 23 37 −9 0 0 0
Jack Valiquette C 60 8 13 21 15 2 3 0 2
Stan Weir C 30 12 5 17 4 0 0 0 0
Brian Glennie D 77 2 15 17 62 24 0 0 0
Jerry Butler RW 73 9 7 16 49 −10 1 1 1
Trevor Johansen D 79 2 14 16 82 3 0 0 0
Jimmy Jones RW 78 4 9 13 23 1 0 2 1
Randy Carlyle D 49 2 11 13 31 4 0 0 0
Mike Pelyk D 41 1 11 12 14 1 1 0 0
Dan Maloney LW 13 3 4 7 25 −5 0 0 1
Jim McKenny D 15 2 2 4 8 4 0 0 0
Kurt Walker D 40 2 2 4 69 −5 0 0 0
Ron Wilson D 13 2 1 3 0 −5 1 0 0
John Anderson RW 17 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 0
Don Ashby C 12 1 2 3 0 −4 0 0 0
Inge Hammarstrom LW 3 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0
Alain Belanger RW 9 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 0
Bob Neely LW 11 0 1 1 0 −3 0 0 0
Mike Palmateer G 63 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 0
Paul Evans C/LW 4 0 0 0 2 −1 0 0 0
Larry Hopkins LW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gord McRae G 18 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Mike Palmateer 3760 63 34 19 9 172 2.74 5
Gord McRae 1040 18 7 10 1 57 3.29 1
Team: 4800 80 41 29 10 229 2.86 6

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Ian Turnbull D 13 6 10 16 10 1 0 0
Darryl Sittler C 13 3 8 11 12 2 0 0
Lanny McDonald RW 13 3 4 7 10 1 0 2
George Ferguson C 13 5 1 6 7 0 0 0
Pat Boutette C/RW 13 3 3 6 40 0 0 0
Jimmy Jones RW 13 1 5 6 7 0 0 0
Ron Ellis RW 13 3 2 5 0 0 0 2
Stan Weir C 13 3 1 4 0 1 0 1
Borje Salming D 6 2 2 4 6 0 0 1
Dan Maloney LW 13 1 3 4 17 1 0 0
Jack Valiquette C 13 1 3 4 2 1 0 0
Tiger Williams LW 12 1 2 3 63 0 0 0
Trevor Johansen D 13 0 3 3 21 0 0 0
Jerry Butler RW 13 1 1 2 18 0 0 0
Randy Carlyle D 7 0 1 1 8 0 0 0
Mike Pelyk D 12 0 1 1 7 0 0 0
John Anderson RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Glennie D 13 0 0 0 16 0 0 0
Mike Palmateer G 13 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
Kurt Walker D 10 0 0 0 10 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Mike Palmateer 795 13 6 7 32 2.42 2
Team: 795 13 6 7 32 2.42 2

[5]

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 1977–78 season.

Trades

November 1, 1977 To St. Louis Blues
Inge Hammarstrom 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Jerry Butler
January 9, 1978 To Colorado Rockies
Bob Neely 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Cash
January 29, 1978 To Vancouver Canucks
Claire Alexander 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Cash
March 13, 1978 To Detroit Red Wings
Errol Thompson
1st round pick in 1978 – Brent Peterson
2nd round pick in 1978 – Al Jensen
1st round pick in 1980 – Mike Blaisdell 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Dan Maloney
2nd round pick in 1980 – Craig Muni
May 30, 1978 To Colorado Rockies
Cash 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Bob Neely
June 13, 1978 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Randy Carlyle
George Ferguson 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Burrows
6th round pick in 1978 – Mel Hewitt
June 14, 1978 To Los Angeles Kings
Brian Glennie
Kurt Walker
Scott Garland
2nd round pick in 1979 – Mark Hardy 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Hutchison
Lorne Stamler
June 14, 1978 To Minnesota North Stars
4th round pick in 1981 – Terry Tait 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Paul Harrison
June 15, 1978 To St. Louis Blues
11th round pick in 1978 – Jean-François Boutin
12th round pick in 1978 – Paul Stasiuk
13th round pick in 1978 – Brian Crombeen
14th round pick in 1978 – Blair Wheeler 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Cash

Waivers

October 10, 1977 To New York Rangers
Wayne Thomas

Free agents

Player Former team
Jimmy Jones Rochester Americans (AHL)
Larry Hopkins Undrafted Free Agent

Awards and records

Farm teams

References

  1. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
  2. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
  5. ^ "1977-78 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.