1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season

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

Offseason

NHL draft Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team111John Anderson (LW)Toronto Marlboros (OHA)112Trevor Johansen (D)Toronto Marlboros (OHA)224Bob Gladney (D)Oshawa Generals (OHA)229Rocky Saganiuk (RW)Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL)465Dan Eastman (RW)London Knights (OMJHL)583John Wilson (LW)Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)6101Roy Sommer (LW)Calgary Wranglers (WCHL)7119Lynn Jorgenson (LW)Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)8134Kevin Howe (D)Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)9149Ray Robertson (D)St. Lawrence University (ECAC)

Regular season Darryl Sittler ranked third in the NHL in scoring with 117 points.National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, .

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||T||October 13, 1977||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) ||0–0–1

|2||L||October 15, 1977||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||0–1–1

|3||W||October 19, 1977||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||1–1–1

|4||W||October 22, 1977||6–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||2–1–1

|5||W||October 23, 1977||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||3–1–1

|6||T||October 26, 1977||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||3–1–2

|7||W||October 29, 1977||7–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) ||4–1–2

|8||W||November 2, 1977||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||5–1–2

|9||L||November 3, 1977||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||5–2–2

|10||W||November 5, 1977||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||6–2–2

|11||W||November 9, 1977||4–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||7–2–2

|12||W||November 11, 1977||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||8–2–2

|13||L||November 12, 1977||0–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||8–3–2

|14||W||November 16, 1977||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||9–3–2

|15||W||November 17, 1977||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||10–3–2

|16||L||November 19, 1977||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||10–4–2

|17||W||November 23, 1977||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||11–4–2

|18||T||November 26, 1977||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||11–4–3

|19||W||November 29, 1977||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||12–4–3

|20||L||November 30, 1977||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||12–5–3

|21||W||December 3, 1977||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) ||13–5–3

|22||L||December 4, 1977||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||13–6–3

|23||W||December 7, 1977||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||14–6–3

|24||W||December 9, 1977||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||15–6–3

|25||W||December 10, 1977||3–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||16–6–3

|26||W||December 14, 1977||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1977–78) ||17–6–3

|27||W||December 16, 1977||8–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||18–6–3

|28||W||December 17, 1977||7–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||19–6–3

|29||T||December 19, 1977||4–4 || style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||19–6–4

|30||L||December 21, 1977||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||19–7–4

|31||W||December 23, 1977||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||20–7–4

|32||L||December 26, 1977||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||20–8–4

|33||L||December 28, 1977||0–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||20–9–4

|34||W||December 30, 1977||5–0 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||21–9–4

|35||L||December 31, 1977||0–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||21–10–4

|36||W||January 4, 1978||5–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||22–10–4

|37||L||January 5, 1978||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) ||22–11–4

|38||W||January 7, 1978||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||23–11–4

|39||L||January 9, 1978||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||23–12–4

|40||W||January 11, 1978||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||24–12–4

|41||L||January 13, 1978||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||24–13–4

|42||T||January 14, 1978||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||24–13–5

|43||T||January 17, 1978||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||24–13–6

|44||T||January 19, 1978||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||24–13–7

|45||L||January 21, 1978||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||24–14–7

|46||W||January 25, 1978||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1977–78) ||25–14–7

|47||L||January 26, 1978||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders (1977–78) ||25–15–7

|48||W||January 28, 1978||7–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||26–15–7

|49||T||February 1, 1978||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||26–15–8

|50||T||February 4, 1978||2–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) ||26–15–9

|51||T||February 5, 1978||3–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||26–15–10

|52||W||February 8, 1978||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||27–15–10

|53||W||February 11, 1978||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1977–78) ||28–15–10

|54||W||February 13, 1978||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||29–15–10

|55||L||February 15, 1978||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||29–16–10

|56||W||February 18, 1978||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||30–16–10

|57||W||February 22, 1978||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||31–16–10

|58||W||February 25, 1978||4–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||32–16–10

|59||W||February 26, 1978||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||33–16–10

|60||L||February 28, 1978||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders (1977–78) ||33–17–10

|61||W||March 1, 1978||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||34–17–10

|62||W||March 4, 1978||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||35–17–10

|63||W||March 5, 1978||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1977–78) ||36–17–10

|64||L||March 8, 1978||1–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||36–18–10

|65||L||March 9, 1978||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||36–19–10

|66||W||March 11, 1978||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||37–19–10

|67||W||March 12, 1978||7–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||38–19–10

|68||W||March 15, 1978||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||39–19–10

|69||L||March 18, 1978||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||39–20–10

|70||L||March 19, 1978||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||39–21–10

|71||L||March 22, 1978||2–6 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1977–78) ||39–22–10

|72||L||March 23, 1978||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||39–23–10

|73||L||March 25, 1978||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1977–78) ||39–24–10

|74||W||March 27, 1978||3–0 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||40–24–10

|75||L||March 29, 1978||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||40–25–10

|76||W||April 1, 1978||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||41–25–10

|77||L||April 2, 1978||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||41–26–10

|78||L||April 5, 1978||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||41–27–10

|79||L||April 8, 1978||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||41–28–10

|80||L||April 9, 1978||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||41–29–10

Legend:

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 C 80 45 72 117 100341408 RW 74 47 40 87 54341105 D 80 16 60 76 7030605 D 77 14 47 61 776313 RW 80 26 24 50 178305 LW 78 19 31 50 3516605 LW 59 17 22 39 1017412 C/RW 80 17 19 36 1200201 C 40 11 18 29 128102 C 73 7 16 23 37−9000 C 60 8 13 21 152302 C 30 12 5 17 40000 D 77 2 15 17 6224000 RW 73 9 7 16 49−10111 D 79 2 14 16 823000 RW 78 4 9 13 231021 D 49 2 11 13 314000 D 41 1 11 12 141100 LW 13 3 4 7 25−5001 D 15 2 2 4 84000 D 40 2 2 4 69−5000 D 13 2 1 3 0−5100 RW 17 1 2 3 21000 C 12 1 2 3 0−4000 LW 3 1 1 2 01100 RW 9 0 1 1 60000 LW 11 0 1 1 0−3000 G 63 0 1 1 120000 C/LW 4 0 0 0 2−1000 LW 2 0 0 0 00000 G 18 0 0 0 20000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO 3760 63 34 19 9 172 2.74 5 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 D 13 6 10 16 10100 C 13 3 8 11 12200 RW 13 3 4 7 10102 C 13 5 1 6 7000 C/RW 13 3 3 6 40000 RW 13 1 5 6 7000 RW 13 3 2 5 0002 C 13 3 1 4 0101 D 6 2 2 4 6001 LW 13 1 3 4 17100 C 13 1 3 4 2100 LW 12 1 2 3 63000 D 13 0 3 3 21000 RW 13 1 1 2 18000 D 7 0 1 1 8000 D 12 0 1 1 7000 RW 2 0 0 0 0000 D 13 0 0 0 16000 G 13 0 0 0 7000 D 10 0 0 0 10000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO 795 13 6 7 32 2.42 2 Team: 795 13 6 7 32 2.42 2

Awards and records Börje 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

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

Trades November 1, 1977To St. Louis BluesInge HammarstromTo Toronto Maple LeafsJerry Butler January 9, 1978To Colorado RockiesBob NeelyTo Toronto Maple LeafsCash January 29, 1978To Vancouver CanucksClaire AlexanderTo Toronto Maple LeafsCash March 13, 1978To Detroit Red WingsErrol Thompson 1st round pick in 1978 – Brent Peterson 2nd round pick in 1978 – Al Jensen 1st round pick in 1980 – Mike BlaisdellTo Toronto Maple LeafsDan Maloney 2nd round pick in 1980 – Craig Muni May 30, 1978To Colorado RockiesCashTo Toronto Maple LeafsBob Neely June 13, 1978To Pittsburgh PenguinsRandy Carlyle George FergusonTo Toronto Maple LeafsDave Burrows 6th round pick in 1978 – Mel Hewitt June 14, 1978To Los Angeles KingsBrian Glennie Kurt Walker Scott Garland 2nd round pick in 1979 – Mark HardyTo Toronto Maple LeafsDave Hutchison Lorne Stamler June 14, 1978To Minnesota North Stars4th round pick in 1981 – Terry TaitTo Toronto Maple LeafsPaul Harrison June 15, 1978To St. Louis Blues11th round pick in 1978 – Jean-François Boutin 12th round pick in 1978 – Paul Stasiuk 13th round pick in 1978 – Brian Crombeen 14th round pick in 1978 – Blair WheelerTo Toronto Maple LeafsCash

Waivers October 10, 1977To New York RangersWayne Thomas

Free agents