Toronto Maple Leafs Greatest Playoff Moments Since 1967
1967 was a big year for hockey, the NHL, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The year that history would remember as the height of the hippie counter-culture and the summer of love was an important watershed in the history of the NHL, too. In 1967, the original six team era came to a close with a Toronto Maple Leafs victory, and a massive league expansion occurred that doubled the number of NHL teams from six to twelve.
For Toronto Maple Leafs hockey fans the summer of love was an opportunity to bask in the glory of another Stanley Cup victory-the fourth during the first 7 years of the decade.
Tim Horton’s name again adorned the Stanley Cup, and that name had yet to appear on a paper coffee cup or a box of doughnuts.
Few Leafs fans of the era would have predicted that by the far distant year of 2020, no other Maple Leafs season would have culminated in a Stanley Cup victory celebration.
Since the 1967 expansion season, every one of the original six teams has won the Stanley Cup at least once-save one….our beloved Buds.
As Leafs Nation gears up for some unprecedented summer hockey and a renewed quest for the cup, let’s look back on the years between 1967 and now and the over half a century that our Maple Leafs have failed to appear in the final dance for Lord Stanley’s mug.
These are the Toronto Maple Leafs greatest post-season moments/accomplishments since 1967:
1977-78-Toronto Maple Leafs Defeat the New York Islanders to Advance to Semi-Finals
The 1977-78 Toronto Maple Leafs had their best regular season in over a decade by posting a 41-29-10 season for 92 points.
The Leafs’ core of Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Tiger Williams, Borje Salming, Ian Turnbull, and Mike Palmateer could complete with any club’s best starting six, and these boys were all in their primes.
The ’78 buds were coached by “Captain Video,” coach Roger Neilson-a sort of 1970s version of the stats-oriented Dubasian hockey man.
Much was expected of the buds that playoff year, and they didn’t disappoint.
After disposing elimination round fodder in the form of the Los Angeles Kings in two straight games in the best of three elimination round, the Maple Leafs moved on to play a burgeoning New York Islanders team that featured up and coming superstars Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies in the quarterfinals.
The series against the Islanders was a bitter and hard-fought battle that went the entire seven games.
Game seven in Long Island went into overtime, and defenseman Ian Turnbull, who led the Buds in playoff scoring that year, sent a perfect pass to Lanny McDonald who was closing in on the slot.
McDonald zipped a seeing-eye wrist shot past the outstretched leg of Islanders’ goalie Glen “Chico” Resch for the golden goal and a place in the semi-finals.
By earning a place in the NHL semi-finals, the Leafs had come further than they had during the previous 11 season.
Unfortunately, the Leafs faced a Montreal Canadiens team in the semi-finals that was rounding into one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history.
The Leafs made a valiant effort, but went down in four straight games. Despite the quick semi-final exit, Maple Leafs fans were treated to two playoff series victories and the most exciting hockey seen in the Big Smoke since the summer of love.
1992-93-Toronto Maple Leafs Defeat the St. Louis Blues to Advance to the Conference Final
Following the Toronto Maple Leafs most wretched decade, the 1980s, the they were due for some playoff success. The early 1990s was the heyday of Doug Gilmour, who was acquired by the Leafs in one of the biggest trades in NHL history.
Gilmour was expected to be a cornerstone of the team’s rebuilding; however, few would have predicted just how dominant he would be in blue and white.
In 1992-93, Gilmour recorded 127 points-a total which still stands as the most ever by a Leafs player. Gilmour was ably supported by Nikolai Boschevsky, Glenn Anderson, Dave Andreychuk, John Cullen, and the mighty Wendel Clark.
The Leafs managed to pull off two seven-game series wins that spring in seven game series against the Detroit Red Wings and the St.Louis Blues, respectively.
The Leafs won the first series (Norris division semi-final) on an overtime winning goal by the diminutive winger, Nikolai Borchevsky.
Throughout the minute and a half that that overtime took, the Leafs starting line of Gilmour, Clark and Borchevsky hemmed the Wings in on their side of the blue line with dogged forechecking.
The Leafs forwards caused the Wings to cough up the puck several times and on a redirected shot from defenseman Bob Rouse, Borchevsky put the Buds in the quarter-finals.
The Leafs met the St. Louis Blues in round two. The Blues were clearly no match for the Leafs considerable firepower.
If not for the goaltending heroics of future Leaf Curtis Joseph, this series would not have seen a 7th game. The Leafs finally proved too much for the Blues, and the Leafs Buds won game seven by a score of 6-0.
The Leafs had made it into the conference finals, but this controversial series saw the Maple leafs lose in seven games to the Los Angeles.
The Leafs were in a position to win the series in game six; however, a Wayne Gretzky high stick on Doug Gilmour went uncalled by referee Kerry Fraser.
The Great One should have received a game misconduct, but he stayed in the game and scored the winning goal. Game seven at Maple Leaf Gardens saw the lose the series in front of the home fans.
1993-94-Toronto Maple Leafs beat the San Jose Sharks to Reach the Conference finals
Just a year after the Toronto Maple Leafs were unceremoniously tossed from Stanley Cup contention by the Los Angeles Kings, the same group of Leafs were back to try it again.
Back in the fold were the star players, Doug Gilmour, Dave Andreychuk, Glen Anderson and Wendel Clark. This time the boys are supported by the veteran superstar Mike Gartner, and the Toronto Maple Leafs looked poised to take another run at Lord Stanley’s mug.
During the regular season Doug Gilmour had another stellar campaign recording 111 points. Dave Andreychuk notched 53 goals, while Wendel Clark was not far behind with 46. The Maple Leafs team amassed 98 points for the season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs started the 93-94 playoffs season well with a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the first round.
Up next were the lowly San Jose Sharks. Despite the fact that the Leafs posted a superior regular season record to the Sharks, the buds had their hands full with the sharks and the series went a full seven games.
This all despite the fact that the Buds had heavily outscored the Sharks throughout the first six games.
In game seven in Toronto, Wendel Clark got the buds rolling with a wicked wrist shot that beat Shark’s goalie, Arturs Irbe, early in the first period. Clark added another, and the Buds were on their way to a 4-2 victory to take the series.
Yet again, however, the Leafs fell in the third round. This time, to a surprisingly strong Vancouver Canucks that team that served as the latest spoiler to the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup aspirations.
1998-99- Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins to Reach the Conference Finals
The 1998-99 NHL season was notable for the Maple Leafs as it was the year that the buds finally moved from the Western Conference back to the Eastern Conference.
It was also the season that saw the last game ever NHL game played in venerable old Maple leaf Gardens on February 13, 1999. The end of an era.
This was now the era of Mats Sundin. Gone with the Gardens were the early 1990s heroes Gilmour, Clark, Andreyhuck and Potvin and in their place were the big Swedish superstar centre ably supported by new arrivals, Bryan Berard, Sylvain Cote, Curtis “Cujo”Joseph, and Alexander Karpotsev.
Back in the fold, after a stint in Chicago, was top power forward, Steve “Stumpy” Thomas.
This revamped Maple Leafs team had a stellar regular season behind general manager Ken Dryden and coach Pat Quinn in 1998-1999, recording 97 points through the regular season.
In the opening round, the Maple Leafs faced their old nemesis from the late 1970s, the Philadelphia Flyers. However, over twenty years later, the Flyers were no longer the “Broad Street Bullies” and the Leafs handed them a six game series defeat.
Up next were the Pittsburgh Penguins led by the young Czech superstar, Jaromir Jagr.
The pens were minus recently retired Mario Lemieux, so maybe, it seemed, the buds had a shot.
After dropping two of the first three games, the Maple Leafs battled back to win the next three, and they took a 3-2 series lead into game six in Pittsburgh. After regulation, the teams were deadlocked at three goals a piece.
In the overtime, centre Yanick Perreault won a face-off in the Penguins’ zone and the puck came to winger Gary Valk parked in the slot. Valk swept the puck under the prone Penguins’ goalie Tom Barrasso and the buds were once again headed to a Conference final with Stanley Cup final berth in the offing.
As had happened earlier in the decade, the Leafs lost that finals slot, this time at the hands of a red-hot Buffalo Sabres team that earned their first Stanley Cup final appearance in more than two decades.
2001-02-Toronto Maple Leafs Defeat the Ottawa Senators to Yet Again Reach the Conference Finals
As the Toronto Maple Leafs entered the Twenty-first Century, the team changed track and general manager Pat Quinn went about signing a number of veteran players who had been stars in the NHL during the 1980s and 90s, but were now admittedly a little long in the tooth.
Skill is skill nonetheless, and even players well into their thirties can rise to the occasion (see Jason Spezza this year).
Quinn had seen as a Maple Leaf player in the late 60s how the aging, but eminently solid Leafs defense core of Allan Stanley, Tim Horton, and Red Kelly had captured a Stanley Cup with support of the 40-plus-year-old Johnny Bower between the pipes.
By 2001-02, Quinn had acquired former NHL stars such as Gary Roberts, Shane Corson, Alexander Mogilny, Robert Reichel, and Mikael Renberg to provide support for current Maple Leafs superstar Mats Sundin, and make another run at a Stanley Cup Finals berth.
During the 01-02 regular season, the buds hit the 100 point mark for just the second time in club history and seemed well set for a good playoff run.
Quinn’s gamble on the aging stars seemed a good one as Mogilny, Reichel, Roberts and Renberg all scored near a point a game during the regular season.
In the playoffs, the Leafs defeated the New York Islanders in the first round and moved on to the Battle of Ontario versus the Ottawa Senators in round two.
A bitter series ensued that featured bad blood and a serious cheap shot check from behind by Daniel Alfreddson on Darcy Tucker. Throughout six games in the series, the teams were tied at three games a piece and were headed back to Air Canada Centre for a decisive game seven.
In game seven, Alexander Mogilny scored a pair of goals as the Leafs went on to a 4-1 victory in game seven for the right to meet the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.
Next. Defense and Goalie Grades. dark
Again, the Buds bowed out in the conference final, and they haven’t been back since.