1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division4th Adams
Conference5th Wales
1979–80 record35-40-5
Goals for304
Goals against327
Team information
General managerPunch Imlach
CoachFloyd Smith
Dick Duff
Punch Imlach
CaptainDarryl Sittler (Oct-Dec)
vacant (Dec-Apr)
Alternate captainsNone
Team leaders
GoalsDarryl Sittler (40)
AssistsDarryl Sittler (57)
PointsDarryl Sittler (97)
Penalty minutesTiger Williams (197)
WinsMike Palmateer (16)
Goals against averageJiri Crha (3.61)

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.

Offseason

NHL draft

Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 9 Laurie Boschman (C)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
3 51 Normand Aubin (C)  Canada Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
4 72 Vincent Tremblay (G)  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
5 93 Frank Nigro (C)  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
6 114 Bill McCreary Jr. (RW)  United States 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

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
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.

League standings[7]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 48 12 20 327 254 116
2 y – Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 47 17 16 318 201 110
3 x – Montreal Canadiens NRS 80 47 20 13 328 240 107
4 Boston Bruins ADM 80 46 21 13 310 234 105
5 New York Islanders PTK 80 39 28 13 281 247 91
6 Minnesota North Stars ADM 80 36 28 16 311 253 88
7 x – Chicago Black Hawks SMY 80 34 27 19 241 250 87
8 New York Rangers PTK 80 38 32 10 308 284 86
9 Atlanta Flames PTK 80 35 32 13 282 269 83
10 St. Louis Blues SMY 80 34 34 12 266 278 80
11 Toronto Maple Leafs ADM 80 35 40 5 304 327 75
12 Los Angeles Kings NRS 80 30 36 14 290 313 74
13 Pittsburgh Penguins NRS 80 30 37 13 251 303 73
14 Hartford Whalers NRS 80 27 34 19 303 312 73
15 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 27 37 16 256 281 70
16 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 28 39 13 301 322 69
17 Washington Capitals PTK 80 27 40 13 261 293 67
18 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 26 43 11 268 306 63
19 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 25 44 11 248 313 61
20 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 20 49 11 214 314 51
21 Colorado Rockies SMY 80 19 48 13 234 308 51

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference


Schedule and results

1979–80 Game log
October
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
1 10/10/1979 New York Rangers 3-6 Maple Leaf Gardens 0-1-0
2 10/13/1979 Colorado Rockies 2 - 1 Maple Leaf Gardens 1-1-0
3 10/14/1979 at Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 4 The Spectrum 1-2-0
4 10/17/1979 Minnesota North Stars 6 - 2 Maple Leaf Gardens 2-2-0
5 10/19/1979 at Washington Capitals 5 - 3 Maple Leaf Gardens 3-2-0
6 10/20/1979 Vancouver Canucks 2 - 0 Maple Leaf Gardens 4-2-0
7 10/24/1979 at Vancouver Canucks 1 - 5 The Pacific Coliseum 4-3-0
8 10/26/1979 at Colorado Rockies 2 - 2 McNichols Sports Arena 4-3-1
9 10/27/1979 at Los Angeles Kings 5 - 7 The Forum 4-4-1
10 10/31/1979 Hartford Whalers 2 - 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 4-5-1
November
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
11 11/2/1979 at Hartford Whalers 3 - 5 Springfield Civic Center 4-6-1
12 11/3/1979 Buffalo Sabres 3 – 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 4-7-1
13 11/7/1979 at St. Louis Blues 7 - 4 5-7-1
14 11/10/1979 at Winnipeg Jets 8 - 4 6-7-1
15 11/11/1979 at Edmonton Oilers 6 - 3 7-7-1
16 11/14/1979 St. Louis Blues 7 - 2 8-7-1
17 11/17/1979 Boston Bruins 0 - 2 Maple Leaf Gardens 8-8-1
18 11/18/1979 at Quebec Nordiques 2 - 4 Le Colisée 8-9-1
19 11/21/1979 Edmonton Oilers 4 - 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 8-9-2
20 11/24/1979 Chicago Blackhawks 1 - 2 Maple Leaf Gardens 8-10-2
21 11/25/1979 at New York Rangers 4 - 3 Madison Square Garden 9-10-2
22 11/27/1979 at Atlanta Flames 5 - 3 10-10-2
23 11/28/1979 at Washington Capitals 4 - 2 11-10-2
December
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
24 12/1/1979 Philadelphia Flyers 4-4 Maple Leaf Gardens 11-10-3
25 12/5/1979 Montreal Canadiens 3 – 2 Maple Leaf Gardens 12-10-3
26 12/7/1979 New York Islanders 1 - 6 Maple Leaf Gardens 12-11-3
27 12/12/1979 Colorado Rockies Maple Leaf Gardens 5 – 3 13-11-3
28 12/15/1979 Atlanta Flames 8 - 1 Maple Leaf Gardens 14-11-3
29 12/17/1979 at Minnesota North Stars 1 - 5 14-12-3
30 12/19/1979 Los Angeles Kings 4 - 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 14-12-4
31 12/20/1979 at Boston Bruins 0 – 10 Boston Garden 14-13-4
32 12/22/1979 Detroit Red Wings 2 – 1 Maple Leaf Gardens 15-13-4
33 12/23/1979 at Montreal Canadiens 4 - 8 Montreal Forum 15-14-4
34 12/26/1979 Washington Capitals 2 - 8 Maple Leaf Gardens 15-15-4
35 12/27/1979 at Buffalo Sabres 3 - 5 War Memorial Auditorium 15-16-4
36 12/29/1979 Winnipeg Jets 6 - 1 Maple Leaf Gardens 16-16-4
January
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
37 1/2/1980 New York Islanders 1-3 Maple Leaf Gardens 16-17-4
38 1/5/1980 Quebec Nordiques 3 - 7 Maple Leaf Gardens 16-18-4
39 1/7/1980 Pittsburgh Penguins 9 - 5 Maple Leaf Gardens 17-18-4
40 1/9/1980 Montreal Canadiens 3 - 5 Maple Leaf Gardens 17-19-4
41 1/12/1980 Vancouver Canucks 6 - 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 18-19-4
42 1/16/1980 at Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 6 18-20-4
43 1/17/1980 at New York Islanders 6 - 9 18-21-4
44 1/19/1980 at Montreal Canadiens 2 - 7 Montreal Forum 18-22-4
45 1/22/1980 at Atlanta Flames 4 - 2 19-22-4
46 1/24/1980 at Los Angeles Kings 4 - 5 Los Angeles Forum 19-23-4
47 1/26/1980 at Edmonton Oilers 3 - 8 Northlands Coliseum 19-24-4
48 1/27/1980 at Vancouver Canucks 5 - 2 20-24-4
49 1/30/1980 Detroit Red Wings 6 - 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 21-24-4
February
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
50 2/2/1980 Chicago Blackhawks 4-5 Maple Leaf Gardens 21-25-4
51 2/3/1980 at Chicago Blackhawks 2 - 4 Chicago Stadium 21-26-4
52 2/7/1980 at Boston Bruins 6 - 8 Boston Garden 21-27-4
53 2/9/1980 Los Angeles Kings 2 - 7 Maple Leaf Gardens 21-28-4
54 2/10/1980 at Detroit Red Wings 4 - 1 22-28-4
55 2/13/1980 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 4 Maple Leaf Gardens 22-29-4
56 2/16/1980 Hartford Whalers 5 - 3 Maple Leaf Gardens 23-29-4
57 2/17/1980 at New York Rangers 6 - 4 Madison Square Garden 24-29-4
58 2/19/1980 at New York Islanders 6 - 4 25-29-4
59 2/20/1980 at Chicago Blackhawks 2 - 4 Chicago Stadium 25-30-4
60 2/23/1980 at Winnipeg Jets 9 - 3 26-30-4
61 2/26/1980 at St. Louis Blues 2 – 5 26-31-4
62 2/27/1980 at Colorado Rockies 4 - 3 27-31-4
March
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
63 3/1/1980 Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 3 Maple Leaf Gardens 27-31-5
64 3/2/1980 at Detroit Red Wings 6 - 3 28-31-5
65 3/5/1980 at Pittsburgh Penguins 5 - 3 29-31-5
66 3/8/1980 Quebec Nordiques 3 - 2 30-31-5
67 3/9/1980 at Quebec Nordiques 4 - 5 Le Colisée 30-32-5
68 3/12/1980 St. Louis Blues 2 - 3 Maple Leaf Gardens 30-33-5
69 3/15/1980 New York Rangers 4 - 8 Maple Leaf Gardens 30-34-5
70 3/17/1980 Atlanta Flames 1 - 5 Maple Leaf Gardens 30-35-5
71 3/19/1980 Winnipeg Jets 9 - 1 Maple Leaf Gardens 31-35-5
72 3/20/1980 at Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 0 32-35-5
73 3/22/1980 Buffalo Sabres 1 - 5 Maple Leaf Gardens 32-36-5
74 3/24/1980 Washington Capitals 6 - 1 Maple Leaf Gardens 33-36-5
75 3/25/1980 at Minnesota North Stars 2 - 7 33-37-5
76 3/29/1980 Edmonton Oilers 5 – 8 Maple Leaf Gardens 33-38-5
April
Game Date Opponent Score Location/Attendance Record
77 4/1/1980 at Hartford Whalers 5-4 34-38-5
78 4/2/1980 Boston Bruins 2-5 Maple Leaf Gardens 34-39-5
79 4/5/1980 Minnesota North Stars 2-1 Maple Leaf Gardens 35-39-5
80 4/6/1980 at Buffalo Sabres 3-7 Buffalo War Memorial Auditorium 35-40-5
1979–80 Schedule

Transactions

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
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
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
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

[10]

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;

Playoffs

Date Opponent Score Series lead
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 (OT) Stars win series 3-0

[11]

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1979-80 season.

Trades

August 22, 1979 To Edmonton Oilers
6th round pick in 1981 - Steve Smith 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Reg Thomas
December 13, 1979 To Quebec Nordiques
Reg Thomas 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Farrish
Terry Martin
December 24, 1979 To Hartford Whalers
Pat Boutette 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Bob Stephenson
December 29, 1979 To Colorado Rockies
Lanny McDonald
Joel Quenneville 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Pat Hickey
Wilf Paiement
January 10, 1980 To Chicago Black Hawks
Dave Hutchison 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Pat Ribble
February 10, 1980 To Vancouver Canucks
Cash 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Curt Ridley
February 16, 1980 To Washington Capitals
Pat Ribble 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Mike Kaszycki
February 18, 1980 To Vancouver Canucks
Tiger Williams
Jerry Butler 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Rick Vaive
Bill Derlago
March 3, 1980 To Colorado Rockies
Walt McKechnie 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
3rd round pick in 1980 - Fred Boimistruck
June 10, 1980 To Calgary Flames
2nd round pick in 1980 - Kevin LaVallee 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
David Shand
3rd round pick in 1980 - Torrie Robertson
June 11, 1980 To Washington Capitals
Mike Palmateer
3rd round pick in 1980 - Torrie Robertson 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Tim Coulis
Robert Picard
2nd round pick in 1980 - Bob McGill

Waivers

February 10, 1980 From Los Angeles Kings
Richard Mulhern

Free agents

Player Former Team
Daryl Maggs Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)
Carl Brewer Toronto Toros (WHA)
Jiri Crha HC Pardubice (Czech.)
Larry Carriere Buffalo Sabres
Player New Team
Greg Hubick Vancouver Canucks
Roy Sommer Edmonton Oilers

Awards and records

Farm teams

The Maple Leafs were affiliated with the New Brunswick Hawks of the American Hockey League.

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Lanny McDonald trade has Sittler in tears," Jim Kernaghan, Toronto Star, December 29, 1979, p. 1.
  2. ^ a b c Foster, p. 103
  3. ^ Foster, p. 102.
  4. ^ Foster, p. 101.
  5. ^ Foster, p. 104.
  6. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  7. ^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  8. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Legends of Hockey – Spotlight – One on One with Lanny McDonald Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  11. ^ Toronto Maple Leafs 1979-80 Game Log and Scores Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ 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.