Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Palmateer #6 Goalie

Entering in at number six on the greatest goaltenders in Toronto Maple Leafs history is, Mike Palmateer.

Last article I talked about who I thought was the seventh greatest goaltender in Toronto Maple Leafs history, which was, Jacques Plante. This article we will look at who I think is the sixth greatest goalie in Leafs history.

#6 Mike Palmateer

Mike Palmateer was drafted by the Leafs 85th overall in the 1974 NHL Draft. After spending two years in juniors, Palmateer made his NHL debut during the 1976-77 season.

1976-77

In Palmateer’s first season, he posted a GAA of 3.21, ranking ninth among starting goaltenders. While he did not have the greatest season, this was his first in the league and had a very respectable first season. He had a record of 23-18-8 helping the Leafs make the playoffs. The Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in the Preliminary Round before losing 4-2 in the Quarter-Finals to the Philadelphia Flyers. Palmateer had a 3-3 record with a 2.67 GAA, showing the league what he was capable of.

1977-78

Palmateer had a great second year, with a GAA of 2.74, he was ranked sixth among starting goaltenders. With a record of 34-19-9, Palmateer once again, led the Leafs to the Playoffs. The Leafs won the Preliminary Round 2-0 against the Los Angeles Kings and the Quarter-Finals against the New York Islander 4-3. They were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 in the Semi-Finals. He had a 6-7 record with a 2.42 GAA showing everybody that he is better in the playoffs.

1978-79

In his third season with the team, Palmateer had a GAA of 2.95, ranking fifth among starting goalies. His record of 26-21-10 was good enough to help the Leafs secure a playoff spot. In the playoffs, the Leafs beat the Atlanta Flames 2-0 in the Preliminary Round. They lost to the Canadiens 4-0 in the Quarter-Finals. Palmateer had a record of 2-3 with a GAA of 3.42, marking the first time his GAA was worse in the playoffs than it was during the regular season.

1979-1980

This season, Palmateer took a very big drop in GAA. With a GAA of 3.68, he ranked 17th among starting goaltenders. While his GAA did drop, he was still able to get the Leafs into the post-season with a record of 16-14-3. In the playoffs, the Leafs lost 3-0 in the Preliminary Round against the Minnesota North Stars. With a GAA of 7.00, this marked the end of Palmateer’s time in Toronto, for now.

The Trade

While being only 26 years old, the Leafs felt like it was time to move on from Palmateer. On June 11th, 1980, the Leafs traded Palmateer alongside a third round pick in 1980 (Torrie Robertson) to the Washington Capitals for Tim Coulis, Robert Picard and a second round in 1980 (Bob McGill).

With the Capitals, Palmateer had a GAA of 4.03 over two seasons because he had bad knees. Because of this, Palmateer was sent back to Toronto for money.

1982-83

In his first season back in Toronto, Palmateer had a GAA of 3.99, ranking 14th among starting goaltenders. Despite a poor record of 21-23-7, he was still able to help the Leafs make the playoffs. The Leafs would go on to lose 3-1 in the Semi-Finals to Minnesota. While he was only 29 at the time, Palmateer was showing signs of retiring soon.

More from Editor In Leaf

• Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Robertson Healthy and Ready
• Ryan Reaves Will Have Zero Impact on Toronto Maple Leafs
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Playing Max Domi In Top-Six a HUGE Mistake
• Top 10 Scandals in the History of the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Results from the Traverse City Prospects Tournament

1983-84

In his final season in the NHL, Mike had a GAA of 4.88 and a record of 9-17-4. While he was only 30 at the time, his knees were very bad and restricted his mobility. This caused him to not be as quick as he once was and thus hurting his career. With Palmateer getting worse, the Leafs as a whole got worse and did not make the playoffs. Before the beginning of the 1984-85 season, Mike announced his retirement from the NHL.

Overview

Palmateer had a final record of 129-112-41 in 296 games for the Leafs. He ranks fourth all time in games played and fifth all time in wins for the Leafs. He could have been even better if it wasn’t for his bad knees and multiple surgeries to try and fix them.

Next: Is Phil Kessel an All-Time Great Leaf?

Palmateer has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame which I do not agree with. He was always one of the top goalies when he was healthy and if it was not for his knee problems he would have been one of the best.

*stats from hockeydb.com & hockey-reference.com