1999-2000 The Last Time the Toronto Maple Leafs Won Their Division

TORONTO, ON - MAY 14 : Curtis Joseph of the Toronto Maple Leafs and his teammate, right wing Tie Domi #28, celebrate during game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 14, 2002. The Maple Leafs won 3-0. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI) /

1 of 4

John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs (Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports) /

A 3-2 victory over Montreal last Saturday marked the Toronto Maple Leafs first division win since the 1999-2000 season.

In the 21 years that followed, a Conference Finals loss to Arturs Irbe and the Carolina Hurricanes and Conference Semi-Finals losses to the Devils and Flyers have been about the best the Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to muster.

This year’s first-place Leafs squad, however, looks poised to change that underwhelming history.

With depth at every position and a considerable mix of veteran and physical presence (not to mention a path to the Finals that will never be this undemanding), Toronto is salivating at the chance to potentially ride their number 1 seeding all the way to the Finals.

Sadly, this year and the 1999-2000 North East Division Champs are the only two Leafs teams to ever win a division title outside of the 1930s. Now, technically, the Leafs did finish first over a few times during the six-team era when there were no divisions, so the dubiousness of their lack of titles is lessened somewhat, but really, there is no excuse for wining just a single division between 1967 when the league expanded and this year.

Let’s check in on that 1999-2000 team.

Home/Analysis