There’s no sugarcoating it – coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs is one of the most high-pressure gigs in professional hockey. The city lives and breathes the sport, and expectations never waver, even when the roster does. Through decades of highs and heartbreaks, a few head coaches have found themselves etched into Leafs lore—for all the wrong reasons. Dan Maloney, unfortunately, belongs to that infamous group.
Dan Maloney led the Leafs from 1984 to 1986, compiling a dismal 45-100-15 record over two seasons. That’s a .328 winning percentage—the lowest of any Leafs coach who lasted more than one full season. In a league that rewards competitiveness, the numbers alone make the case that under Maloney, the Leafs weren’t just bad, they were historically bad.
The 1984–85 season in particular stands out. Toronto finished 20-52-8 and gave up 358 goals, the third-most in the entire NHL that year, and scored the fewest number of goals in the league with just 253. Even fans hardened by years of disappointment found themselves asking if watching that team was worth their time. They finished dead last in the entire league that season with just those 48 points earned. The next-worst were the Pittsburgh Penguins team that drafted Mario Lemieux that June, with still four more wins than the Leafs had.
It wasn’t like the Leafs had no talent, either. A 25-year-old Rick Vaive captained that team during the Maloney years and the legendary Bjore Salming was in his early-30s but still able to play better than most defensemen in the NHL at that time. Maloney also had a young duo of Russ Courtnall and Al Iafrate, who would just be waiting to eventually break out into very good hockey players.
Even in his final season as Leafs head coach, Maloney had rookies Steve Thomas and Wendel Clark contributing a heck of a lot of points on the ice. It was insane that he couldn’t get more out of that roster and once again, led the Leafs down a pit of nothing but losing.
Not to mention that Maloney reportedly had his fair share of conflict with controversial Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard at the time. Just to add a cherry on top of the sundae of hockey disaster.
It just felt like a doomed era. Talent on the roster but nothing done with it. A talented player on the ice turned into a coach that had higher expectations but ultimately underachieved so drastically that those teams are hardly remembered as anything special, despite the legendary players that were on the ice.
Hopefully, we don’t see a worse bench boss in our lifetimes.