1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division4th East
1971–72 record33–31–14
Goals for209
Goals against208
Team information
General managerJim Gregory
CoachJohn McLellan
CaptainDave Keon
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsPaul Henderson (38)
AssistsNorm Ullman (50)
PointsNorm Ullman (73)
Penalty minutesRick Ley (124)
WinsBernie Parent (17)
Goals against averageBernie Parent (2.56)

The 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 55th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was also the 40th anniversary season of the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens. The Maple Leafs finished fourth, and qualified for the playoffs, losing in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

Offseason

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In June, team president Stafford Smythe and vice-president Harold Ballard were arrested for theft and fraud involving funds of Maple Leaf Gardens. They were charged jointly on the theft of $146,000 of funds and securities and Smythe was further charged for defrauding Maple Leaf Gardens of $249,000.[1]

Regular season

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On October 13, just after the start of the season, Smythe died of complications from a bleeding ulcer. The Leaf's home opener, scheduled for that night was postponed, only the second postponement in Maple Leaf Gardens history.[1]

Final standings

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East Division[2]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Boston Bruins 78 54 13 11 330 204 +126 119
2 New York Rangers 78 48 17 13 317 192 +125 109
3 Montreal Canadiens 78 46 16 16 307 205 +102 108
4 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 33 31 14 209 208 +1 80
5 Detroit Red Wings 78 33 35 10 261 262 −1 76
6 Buffalo Sabres 78 16 43 19 203 289 −86 51
7 Vancouver Canucks 78 20 50 8 203 297 −94 48


Record vs. opponents

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Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 8, 1971 3–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 1–0–0
2 T October 10, 1971 3–3 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 1–0–1
3 L October 16, 1971 3–5 New York Rangers (1971–72) 1–1–1
4 T October 17, 1971 2–2 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 1–1–2
5 L October 20, 1971 2–7 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 1–2–2
6 L October 22, 1971 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 1–3–2
7 W October 23, 1971 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 2–3–2
8 T October 27, 1971 0–0 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 2–3–3
9 T October 30, 1971 1–1 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 2–3–4
10 T October 31, 1971 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 2–3–5
11 W November 1, 1971 6–1 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 3–3–5
12 L November 3, 1971 1–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 3–4–5
13 W November 6, 1971 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 4–4–5
14 L November 7, 1971 1–8 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 4–5–5
15 L November 10, 1971 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 4–6–5
16 T November 13, 1971 2–2 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 4–6–6
17 T November 14, 1971 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 4–6–7
18 W November 17, 1971 5–1 Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 5–6–7
19 W November 20, 1971 5–1 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 6–6–7
20 W November 21, 1971 4–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 7–6–7
21 W November 24, 1971 2–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 8–6–7
22 T November 27, 1971 3–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 8–6–8
23 L November 28, 1971 1–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 8–7–8
24 W December 1, 1971 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 9–7–8
25 L December 4, 1971 3–5 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 9–8–8
26 W December 8, 1971 3–1 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 10–8–8
27 L December 11, 1971 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 10–9–8
28 W December 12, 1971 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 11–9–8
29 W December 14, 1971 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 12–9–8
30 W December 15, 1971 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 13–9–8
31 W December 18, 1971 8–1 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 14–9–8
32 W December 19, 1971 4–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 15–9–8
33 L December 22, 1971 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 15–10–8
34 W December 25, 1971 5–3 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 16–10–8
35 L December 26, 1971 1–3 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 16–11–8
36 W December 28, 1971 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 17–11–8
37 L December 29, 1971 3–6 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 17–12–8
38 W January 1, 1972 5–2 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 18–12–8
39 L January 5, 1972 0–2 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 18–13–8
40 T January 8, 1972 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 18–13–9
41 W January 9, 1972 2–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 19–13–9
42 T January 12, 1972 1–1 Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 19–13–10
43 W January 15, 1972 4–3 New York Rangers (1971–72) 20–13–10
44 L January 16, 1972 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 20–14–10
45 L January 19, 1972 0–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 20–15–10
46 L January 22, 1972 1–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 20–16–10
47 L January 23, 1972 0–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 20–17–10
48 L January 26, 1972 3–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 20–18–10
49 L January 28, 1972 0–3 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 20–19–10
50 L January 29, 1972 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 20–20–10
51 L February 1, 1972 0–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 20–21–10
52 W February 2, 1972 3–2 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 21–21–10
53 L February 5, 1972 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 21–22–10
54 T February 6, 1972 2–2 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 21–22–11
55 W February 8, 1972 2–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 22–22–11
56 L February 9, 1972 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 22–23–11
57 W February 12, 1972 3–0 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 23–23–11
58 L February 13, 1972 1–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 23–24–11
59 L February 16, 1972 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 23–25–11
60 W February 19, 1972 4–1 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 24–25–11
61 L February 20, 1972 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 24–26–11
62 L February 22, 1972 4–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 24–27–11
63 W February 23, 1972 2–0 Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 25–27–11
64 W February 26, 1972 7–1 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 26–27–11
65 W March 1, 1972 3–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 27–27–11
66 W March 4, 1972 3–2 Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 28–27–11
67 W March 8, 1972 5–1 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 29–27–11
68 W March 11, 1972 2–1 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 30–27–11
69 T March 12, 1972 2–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 30–27–12
70 L March 15, 1972 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 30–28–12
71 T March 18, 1972 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 30–28–13
72 L March 19, 1972 3–5 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 30–29–13
73 T March 22, 1972 3–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 30–29–14
74 L March 24, 1972 3–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 30–30–14
75 W March 25, 1972 4–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 31–30–14
76 W March 29, 1972 4–1 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 32–30–14
77 W April 1, 1972 2–1 New York Rangers (1971–72) 33–30–14
78 L April 2, 1972 4–6 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 33–31–14

Playoffs

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Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Norm Ullman 77 23 50 73 26 8 9 0 1
Paul Henderson 73 38 19 57 32 14 12 1 5
Dave Keon 72 18 30 48 4 1 2 2 5
Ron Ellis 78 23 24 47 17 7 4 0 7
Jim Harrison 66 19 17 36 104 -4 5 0 0
Jim McKenny 76 5 31 36 27 1 2 0 0
Darryl Sittler 74 15 17 32 44 -4 1 0 4
Garry Monahan 78 14 17 31 47 2 2 1 2
Jim Dorey 50 4 19 23 56 10 1 0 2
Guy Trottier 52 9 12 21 16 -12 2 0 1
Brad Selwood 72 4 17 21 58 7 2 0 1
Billy MacMillan 61 10 7 17 39 -1 2 0 2
Denis Dupere 77 7 10 17 4 5 1 0 0
Rick Kehoe 38 8 8 16 4 -1 2 0 0
Donnie Marshall 50 2 14 16 0 2 1 0 0
Rick Ley 67 1 14 15 124 3 0 0 0
Bob Baun 74 2 12 14 101 8 0 0 0
Brian Glennie 61 2 8 10 44 11 0 0 1
Pierre Jarry 18 3 4 7 13 -3 0 0 1
Brian Spencer 36 1 5 6 65 2 0 0 0
Mike Pelyk 46 1 4 5 44 -2 0 0 0
Bernie Parent 47 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 0
Brian Marchinko 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gerry O'Flaherty 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jacques Plante 34 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Bernie Parent 2715 47 17 18 9 116 2.56 3
Jacques Plante 1965 34 16 13 5 86 2.63 2
Team: 4680 78 33 31 14 202 2.59 5

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Dave Keon 5 2 3 5 0 0 0 0
Norm Ullman 5 1 3 4 2 0 0 0
Jim McKenny 5 3 0 3 2 2 1 0
Paul Henderson 5 1 2 3 6 0 0 0
Ron Ellis 5 1 1 2 4 1 0 0
Jim Harrison 5 1 0 1 10 0 0 1
Guy Trottier 4 1 0 1 16 0 0 0
Pierre Jarry 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Bob Baun 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Denis Dupere 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Glennie 5 0 0 0 25 0 0 0
Rick Kehoe 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Rick Ley 5 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
Billy MacMillan 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Donnie Marshall 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Garry Monahan 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bernie Parent 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Pelyk 5 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
Jacques Plante 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brad Selwood 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Darryl Sittler 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Bernie Parent 243 4 1 3 13 3.21 0
Jacques Plante 60 1 0 1 5 5.00 0
Team: 303 5 1 4 18 3.56 0

[4]

Awards and records

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Transactions

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The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1971–72 season.

Trades

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August 20, 1971 To Detroit Red Wings
Brian Conacher 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Cash
August 30, 1971 To Montreal Canadiens
Cash 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Terry Clancy
September 27, 1971 To Vancouver Canucks
Doug Brindley 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Andre Hinse
February 20, 1972 To New York Rangers
Jim Dorey 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Pierre Jarry

Intra-League Draft

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June 5, 1972 From Montreal Canadiens
Larry Pleau
June 5, 1972 To Montreal Canadiens
Brad Selwood
June 5, 1972 To Vancouver Canucks
Gerry O'Flaherty

Expansion Draft

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June 6, 1972 To Atlanta Flames
Billy MacMillan
June 6, 1972 To New York Islanders
Brian Marchinko
June 6, 1972 To New York Islanders
Brian Spencer

Reverse Draft

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June 8, 1972 To California Golden Seals
Marv Edwards

Free agents

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Player Former Team
Lyle Moffat Undrafted Free Agent
Joe Lundrigan Undrafted Free Agent
Gord McRae Undrafted Free Agent

Draft picks

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Toronto's draft picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
2 22 Rick Kehoe  Canada Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
2 23 Dave Fortier  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
3 30 Ralph Hopiavuori  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
3 37 Gavin Kirk  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
4 51 Rick Cunningham  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)
5 65 Bob Sykes  Canada Sudbury Wolves (NOHA)
6 79 Mike Ruest  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
7 93 Dale Smedsmo  United States Bemidji State University (WCHA)
7 98 Steve Johnson  Canada Verdun Maple Leafs (QMJHL)
8 107 Bob Burns  Canada Royal Military College (CIAU)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b McLeod, Rex; Walker, Gord (October 14, 1971). "Gardens' head always approachable, but personality sparked controversy". The Globe and Mail. p. 51.
  2. ^ "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1971-72 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
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