1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs season

Offseason

NHL draft

Regular season

The 1979–80 season marked the dismantling of a promising hockey team. The Maple Leafs had stars such as Darryl Sittler, Mike Palmateer, Lanny McDonald, Tiger Williams, Borje Salming and Ian Turnbull. In previous years, the Leafs were always one of the top teams in the league but could not beat the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. Leafs' owner Harold Ballard fired General Manager Jim Gregory and Head Coach Roger Neilson. After unsuccessfully attempting to hire both former Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry (who became head coach of the Colorado Rockies) and former Montreal Canadiens head coach Scotty Bowman (who became head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres; ironically, he hired Neilson as an assistant coach), Ballard brought back Punch Imlach, who had been the Leafs' coach and general manager when they last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, to be the team's new GM. Imlach subsequently hired Floyd Smith, a former Leaf player who had previously coached for Imlach when he was GM of the Sabres, to be the Leafs' new head coach.

By November 1979, tensions between Imlach and Sittler mounted as Sittler publicly aired his grievances. An article was featured in the Globe and Mail by James Christie, titled Darryl Sittler drops the Gloves. Sittler was unhappy that Imlach publicly criticized him and Mike Palmateer. Another point of tension for Sittler was that Imlach placed Lanny McDonald and Ian Turnbull on waivers.

On December 13, 1979, Imlach announced that Carl Brewer was making another comeback in the NHL. Brewer would play for the New Brunswick Hawks, the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate. In Brewer's first game in Moncton, New Brunswick, King Clancy and Johnny Bower showed up to watch him play.

Brewer returned to the Maple Leafs on December 26, 1979, for the Maple Leafs game against the Washington Capitals. Many players on the Leafs felt that Brewer was a spy for Imlach. During the season, Brewer would only play in twenty contests.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- | 1 ||10/10/1979 ||New York Rangers || 3-6 || Maple Leaf Gardens || 0–1–0 |- | 2 || 10/13/1979||Colorado Rockies || 2 – 1 || Maple Leaf Gardens || 1–1–0 |- | 3 ||10/14/1979 || at Philadelphia Flyers || 3 – 4|| The Spectrum || 1–2–0 |- | 4 || 10/17/1979 || Minnesota North Stars || 6 – 2 || Maple Leaf Gardens || 2–2–0 |- | 5 || 10/19/1979 || at Washington Capitals || 5 – 3 || Maple Leaf Gardens || 3–2–0 |- | 6 ||10/20/1979 || Vancouver Canucks || 2 – 0 || Maple Leaf Gardens || 4–2–0 |- | 7 ||10/24/1979 || at Vancouver Canucks ||1 – 5 || The Pacific Coliseum || 4–3–0 |- | 8 ||10/26/1979 || at Colorado Rockies || 2 – 2 || McNichols Sports Arena || 4–3–1 |- | 9 || 10/27/1979 || at Los Angeles Kings || 5 – 7 || The Forum || 4–4–1 |- | 10 || 10/31/1979 || Hartford Whalers || 2 – 4 || Maple Leaf Gardens || 4–5–1

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- |1 ||April 8, 1980 ||at Minnesota North Stars ||3 – 6 ||Stars lead series 1–0 |- |2 ||April 9, 1980 ||at Minnesota North Stars ||2 – 7 ||Stars lead series 2–0 |- |3 ||April 11, 1980 ||Minnesota North Stars ||3 – 4 (OT) ||Stars win series 3–0

| Legend:

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring

;Goaltending

Playoffs

;Scoring

;Goaltending

Awards and records

• Borje Salming, runner-up, Norris Trophy
• Borje Salming was voted to the Second Team All-Stars (a rarity in that usually the runner-up for the Norris joins the Norris winner on the First Team All-Stars).

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1979–80 season.

Trades

Waivers

Free agents

|}

Farm teams

The Maple Leafs were affiliated with the New Brunswick Hawks of the American Hockey League.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• The Power of Two: Carl Brewer's Battle with Hockey's Power Brokers, Susan Foster with notes by Carl Brewer, Fenn Publishing Company Ltd., Bolton, Ontario, 2006, (paperback).
• National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, .

References

1. "Lanny McDonald trade has Sittler in tears", Jim Kernaghan, ''[[Toronto Star]]'', December 29, 1979, p. 1.
2. Foster, p. 103
3. Foster, p. 102.
4. Foster, p. 101.
5. In Brewer's first game, many of his teammates were openly hostile to him. Brewer's defense partner was Börje Salming, and Salming refused to pass Brewer the puck.Foster, p. 104.
6. "1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs Schedule".
7. "1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
8. NHL Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222.
9. [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep199204.htm Legends of Hockey – Spotlight – One on One with Lanny McDonald] {{webarchive. link. (2010-07-03)