1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division	3rd Adams
Conference	4th Wales
1977–78 record	41–29–10
Goals for	271
Goals against	237
Team information
General Manager	Jim Gregory
Coach	Roger Neilson
Captain	Darryl Sittler
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Maple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
Goals	Lanny McDonald (47)
Assists	Darryl Sittler (72)
Points	Darryl Sittler (117)
Penalties in minutes	Tiger Williams (351)
<1976–77 1978–79>

The 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 61st season of the franchise, 51st as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs made the playoffs and won two series before losing the semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens.

Offseason

NHL Draft

#	Player	Nationality	NHL team	College/junior/club team
11	John Anderson (L)	Canada	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
12	Trevor Johansen (D)	Canada	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)

Regular season

Darryl Sittler ranked third in the NHL in scoring with 117 points.^[1]

Final standings

Adams Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Boston Bruins	80	51	18	11	333	218	113
Buffalo Sabres	80	44	19	17	288	215	105
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	41	29	10	271	237	92
Cleveland Barons	80	22	45	13	230	325	57

^[2]

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 13, 1977	3–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	0–0–1
2	L	October 15, 1977	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	0–1–1
3	W	October 19, 1977	5–4	Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	1–1–1
4	W	October 22, 1977	6–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	2–1–1
5	W	October 23, 1977	6–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	3–1–1
6	T	October 26, 1977	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	3–1–2
7	W	October 29, 1977	7–4	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	4–1–2
8	W	November 2, 1977	5–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	5–1–2
9	L	November 3, 1977	2–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	5–2–2
10	W	November 5, 1977	5–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	6–2–2
11	W	November 9, 1977	4–0	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	7–2–2
12	W	November 11, 1977	3–1	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	8–2–2
13	L	November 12, 1977	0–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	8–3–2
14	W	November 16, 1977	5–2	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	9–3–2
15	W	November 17, 1977	2–1	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	10–3–2
16	L	November 19, 1977	1–3	Boston Bruins (1977–78)	10–4–2
17	W	November 23, 1977	3–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	11–4–2
18	T	November 26, 1977	4–4	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	11–4–3
19	W	November 29, 1977	3–2	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	12–4–3
20	L	November 30, 1977	3–5	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	12–5–3
21	W	December 3, 1977	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	13–5–3
22	L	December 4, 1977	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1977–78)	13–6–3
23	W	December 7, 1977	6–3	Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	14–6–3
24	W	December 9, 1977	3–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	15–6–3
25	W	December 10, 1977	3–0	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	16–6–3
26	W	December 14, 1977	3–2	New York Islanders (1977–78)	17–6–3
27	W	December 16, 1977	8–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	18–6–3
28	W	December 17, 1977	7–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	19–6–3
29	T	December 19, 1977	4–4	St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	19–6–4
30	L	December 21, 1977	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	19–7–4
31	W	December 23, 1977	6–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	20–7–4
32	L	December 26, 1977	4–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	20–8–4
33	L	December 28, 1977	0–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	20–9–4
34	W	December 30, 1977	5–0	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	21–9–4
35	L	December 31, 1977	0–3	Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	21–10–4
36	W	January 4, 1978	5–0	Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	22–10–4
37	L	January 5, 1978	1–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	22–11–4
38	W	January 7, 1978	6–4	Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	23–11–4
39	L	January 9, 1978	2–5	Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	23–12–4
40	W	January 11, 1978	4–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	24–12–4
41	L	January 13, 1978	2–5	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	24–13–4
42	T	January 14, 1978	3–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	24–13–5
43	T	January 17, 1978	2–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	24–13–6
44	T	January 19, 1978	3–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	24–13–7
45	L	January 21, 1978	1–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	24–14–7
46	W	January 25, 1978	4–3	@ New York Rangers (1977–78)	25–14–7
47	L	January 26, 1978	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1977–78)	25–15–7
48	W	January 28, 1978	7–5	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	26–15–7
49	T	February 1, 1978	2–2	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	26–15–8
50	T	February 4, 1978	2–2	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	26–15–9
51	T	February 5, 1978	3–3	@ Boston Bruins (1977–78)	26–15–10
52	W	February 8, 1978	5–4	St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	27–15–10
53	W	February 11, 1978	3–2	New York Rangers (1977–78)	28–15–10
54	W	February 13, 1978	4–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	29–15–10
55	L	February 15, 1978	2–4	Boston Bruins (1977–78)	29–16–10
56	W	February 18, 1978	5–4	Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	30–16–10
57	W	February 22, 1978	5–3	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	31–16–10
58	W	February 25, 1978	4–0	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	32–16–10
59	W	February 26, 1978	5–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	33–16–10
60	L	February 28, 1978	3–4	@ New York Islanders (1977–78)	33–17–10
61	W	March 1, 1978	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	34–17–10
62	W	March 4, 1978	4–3	Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	35–17–10
63	W	March 5, 1978	4–1	@ New York Rangers (1977–78)	36–17–10
64	L	March 8, 1978	1–5	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	36–18–10
65	L	March 9, 1978	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	36–19–10
66	W	March 11, 1978	5–2	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	37–19–10
67	W	March 12, 1978	7–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	38–19–10
68	W	March 15, 1978	5–2	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	39–19–10
69	L	March 18, 1978	2–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	39–20–10
70	L	March 19, 1978	4–6	@ Boston Bruins (1977–78)	39–21–10
71	L	March 22, 1978	2–6	New York Islanders (1977–78)	39–22–10
72	L	March 23, 1978	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	39–23–10
73	L	March 25, 1978	2–5	New York Rangers (1977–78)	39–24–10
74	W	March 27, 1978	3–0	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	40–24–10
75	L	March 29, 1978	4–7	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	40–25–10
76	W	April 1, 1978	3–2	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	41–25–10
77	L	April 2, 1978	3–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	41–26–10
78	L	April 5, 1978	3–6	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	41–27–10
79	L	April 8, 1978	1–3	Boston Bruins (1977–78)	41–28–10
80	L	April 9, 1978	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	41–29–10

^[3]

Playoffs

• Won Preliminary Round (2-0) versus Los Angeles Kings
• Won Quarter-Finals (4-3) versus New York Islanders
• Lost Semi-Finals (4-0) versus Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Sittler, DarrylDarryl Sittler	C	80	45	72	117	100	34	14	0	8
McDonald, LannyLanny McDonald	RW	74	47	40	87	54	34	11	0	5
Salming, BorjeBorje Salming	D	80	16	60	76	70	30	6	0	5
Turnbull, IanIan Turnbull	D	77	14	47	61	77	6	3	1	3
Ellis, RonRon Ellis	RW	80	26	24	50	17	8	3	0	5
Williams, TigerTiger Williams	LW	78	19	31	50	351	6	6	0	5
Thompson, ErrolErrol Thompson	LW	59	17	22	39	10	17	4	1	2
Boutette, PatPat Boutette	C/RW	80	17	19	36	120	0	2	0	1
Boudreau, BruceBruce Boudreau	C	40	11	18	29	12	8	1	0	2
Ferguson, GeorgeGeorge Ferguson	C	73	7	16	23	37	-9	0	0	0
Valiquette, JackJack Valiquette	C	60	8	13	21	15	2	3	0	2
Weir, StanStan Weir	C	30	12	5	17	4	0	0	0	0
Glennie, BrianBrian Glennie	D	77	2	15	17	62	24	0	0	0
Butler, JerryJerry Butler	RW	73	9	7	16	49	-10	1	1	1
Johansen, TrevorTrevor Johansen	D	79	2	14	16	82	3	0	0	0
Jones, JimmyJimmy Jones	RW	78	4	9	13	23	1	0	2	1
Carlyle, RandyRandy Carlyle	D	49	2	11	13	31	4	0	0	0
Pelyk, MikeMike Pelyk	D	41	1	11	12	14	1	1	0	0
Maloney, DanDan Maloney	LW	13	3	4	7	25	-5	0	0	1
McKenny, JimJim McKenny	D	15	2	2	4	8	4	0	0	0
Walker, KurtKurt Walker	D	40	2	2	4	69	-5	0	0	0
Wilson, RonRon Wilson	D	13	2	1	3	0	-5	1	0	0
Anderson, JohnJohn Anderson	RW	17	1	2	3	2	1	0	0	0
Ashby, DonDon Ashby	C	12	1	2	3	0	-4	0	0	0
Hammarstrom, IngeInge Hammarstrom	LW	3	1	1	2	0	1	1	0	0
Belanger, AlainAlain Belanger	RW	9	0	1	1	6	0	0	0	0
Neely, BobBob Neely	LW	11	0	1	1	0	-3	0	0	0
Palmateer, MikeMike Palmateer	G	63	0	1	1	12	0	0	0	0
Evans, PaulPaul Evans	C/LW	4	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0
Hopkins, LarryLarry Hopkins	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
McRae, GordGord McRae	G	18	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Palmateer, MikeMike Palmateer	3760	63	34	19	9	172	2.74	5
McRae, GordGord McRae	1040	18	7	10	1	57	3.29	1
Team:	4800	80	41	29	10	229	2.86	6

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Turnbull, IanIan Turnbull	D	13	6	10	16	10	1	0	0
Sittler, DarrylDarryl Sittler	C	13	3	8	11	12	2	0	0
McDonald, LannyLanny McDonald	RW	13	3	4	7	10	1	0	2
Ferguson, GeorgeGeorge Ferguson	C	13	5	1	6	7	0	0	0
Boutette, PatPat Boutette	C/RW	13	3	3	6	40	0	0	0
Jones, JimmyJimmy Jones	RW	13	1	5	6	7	0	0	0
Ellis, RonRon Ellis	RW	13	3	2	5	0	0	0	2
Weir, StanStan Weir	C	13	3	1	4	0	1	0	1
Salming, BorjeBorje Salming	D	6	2	2	4	6	0	0	1
Maloney, DanDan Maloney	LW	13	1	3	4	17	1	0	0
Valiquette, JackJack Valiquette	C	13	1	3	4	2	1	0	0
Williams, TigerTiger Williams	LW	12	1	2	3	63	0	0	0
Johansen, TrevorTrevor Johansen	D	13	0	3	3	21	0	0	0
Butler, JerryJerry Butler	RW	13	1	1	2	18	0	0	0
Carlyle, RandyRandy Carlyle	D	7	0	1	1	8	0	0	0
Pelyk, MikeMike Pelyk	D	12	0	1	1	7	0	0	0
Anderson, JohnJohn Anderson	RW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Glennie, BrianBrian Glennie	D	13	0	0	0	16	0	0	0
Palmateer, MikeMike Palmateer	G	13	0	0	0	7	0	0	0
Walker, KurtKurt Walker	D	10	0	0	0	10	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Palmateer, MikeMike Palmateer	795	13	6	7	32	2.42	2
Team:	795	13	6	7	32	2.42	2

^[4]

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;

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season.

Trades

November 1, 1977	To St. Louis Blues Inge Hammarstrom	To Toronto Maple Leafs Jerry Butler
January 9, 1978	To Colorado Rockies Bob Neely	To Toronto Maple Leafs Cash
January 29, 1978	To Vancouver Canucks Claire Alexander	To Toronto Maple Leafs Cash
March 13, 1978	To Detroit Red Wings Errol Thompson 1st round pick in 1978 - Brent Peterson 2nd round pick in 1978 - Al Jensen 1st round pick in 1980 - Mike Blaisdell	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dan Maloney 2nd round pick in 1980 - Craig Muni
May 30, 1978	To Colorado Rockies Cash	To Toronto Maple Leafs Bob Neely
June 13, 1978	To Pittsburgh Penguins Randy Carlyle George Ferguson	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Burrows 6th round pick in 1978 - Mel Hewitt
June 14, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Brian Glennie Kurt Walker Scott Garland 2nd round pick in 1979 - Mark Hardy	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Hutchison Lorne Stamler
June 14, 1978	To Minnesota North Stars 4th round pick in 1981 - Terry Tait	To Toronto Maple Leafs Paul Harrison
June 15, 1978	To St. Louis Blues 11th round pick in 1978 - Jean-Francois Boutin 12th round pick in 1978 - Paul Stasiuk 13th round pick in 1978 - Brian Crombeen 14th round pick in 1978 - Blair Wheeler	To Toronto Maple Leafs Cash

Waivers

October 10, 1977

To New York Rangers Wayne Thomas

Free agents

Player Former team Jimmy Jones Rochester Americans (AHL) Larry Hopkins Undrafted Free Agent

Awards and records

• Borje Salming, Molson Cup (most game star selections for Toronto Maple Leafs)
• Borje Salming, NHL 2nd All-Star Team
• Darryl Sittler, NHL 2nd All-Star Team

Roster

1977-78 Toronto Maple Leafs
Goaltenders 1 – Gord McRae  29 – Mike Palmateer		Defensemen 2 – Ian Turnbull  3 – Bob Neely  4 – Trevor Johansen  11 – Ron Wilson  18 – Jim McKenny  20 – Mike Pelyk  21 – Borje Salming  23 – Randy Carlyle  24 – Brian Glennie		Wingers 6 – Ron Ellis  7 – Lanny McDonald  9 – Dan Maloney  10 – George Ferguson  11 – Inge Hammarstrom  12 – Larry Hopkins  12 – Errol Thompson  15 – Pat Boutette  17 – Jerry Butler  18 – Alain Belanger  22 – Tiger Williams  26 – Kurt Walker  28 – John Anderson  28 – Paul Evans		Centres 8 – Jack Valiquette  9 – Don Ashby  14 – Stan Weir  16 – Jimmy Jones  19 – Bruce Boudreau  27 – Darryl Sittler  - C GM: Jim Gregory Coach: Roger Neilson

References

• Maple Leafs on Hockey Database

1. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
2. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
3. "1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
4. "1977-78 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.