# 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs season began October 4, 2007. It is the 91st season of the franchise, 81st season as the Maple Leafs.
In an effort to return to the playoffs in 2007–08, the Leafs made two significant moves during the off-season. The first was to acquire goaltender Vesa Toskala (along with Mark Bell) from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for three draft picks. Toronto also signed free agent Jason Blake to a five-year, $20 million contract. Blake reached the 40-goal mark for the first time in 2006–07.
With the Leafs struggling in the Northeast Division, the future of John Ferguson Jr.'s tenure as general manager has been widely debated after club president Richard Peddie admitted that hiring Ferguson was "a mistake". According to TSN, the Leafs asked former Toronto general manager Cliff Fletcher to serve as interim general manager early in January. On January 22, it was announced that Ferguson's time with the club had ended, as the board of directors at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment voted to make a change. Fletcher was named interim general manager of the team.
Defenceman Tomas Kaberle was selected to represent the Maple Leafs and the Eastern Conference at the 2008 All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia. He hit all four targets in four shots to become the winner of the accuracy competition.

## Regular season

On October 8, 2007, newly acquired winger Jason Blake announced that he had chronic myelogenous leukemia, a treatable form of cancer. He continued playing during treatment.
In mid-November 2007, Jiri Tlusty was caught in a scandal when nude photos of him appeared on the Internet. Tlusty apologized for this incident and admitted that he made a mistake.
The Maple Leafs struggled on the penalty kill during the regular season, allowing an NHL-high 77 power-play goals.

### Divisional standings

Northeast Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 262 | 222 | 104 |
| 2 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 261 | 247 | 94 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 222 | 94 |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 255 | 242 | 90 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 231 | 260 | 83 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 262 | 222 | 104 |
| 2 | y – Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 247 | 216 | 102 |
| 3 | y – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 242 | 231 | 94 |
| 4 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 206 | 197 | 99 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 42 | 27 | 13 | 213 | 199 | 97 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 248 | 233 | 95 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 261 | 247 | 94 |
| 8 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 222 | 94 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 249 | 92 |
| 10 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 255 | 242 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 216 | 226 | 85 |
| 12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 231 | 260 | 83 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 35 | 38 | 9 | 194 | 243 | 79 |
| 14 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 216 | 272 | 76 |
| 15 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 31 | 42 | 9 | 223 | 267 | 71 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

## Playoffs

For the third straight year, the Leafs did not qualify for the playoffs.

## Schedule and results
### October

Record: 5–5–3; Home: 3–4–2; Road: 2–1–1
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 1 | October 3 | Ottawa | 4–3 | Toronto | OT | Raycroft | 19,476 | 0–0–1 | 1 |
| 2 | October 4 | Toronto | 2–3 | Ottawa | | Toskala | 19,857 | 0–1–1 | 1 |
| 3 | October 6 | Montreal | 3–4 | Toronto | OT | Toskala | 19,476 | 1–1–1 | 3 |
| 4 | October 9 | Carolina | 7–1 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,224 | 1–2–1 | 3 |
| 5 | October 11 | N.Y. Islanders | 1–8 | Toronto | | Raycroft | 19,319 | 2–2–1 | 5 |
| 6 | October 13 | Pittsburgh | 6–4 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,479 | 2–3–1 | 5 |
| 7 | October 15 | Toronto | 4–5 | Buffalo | OT | Raycroft | 18,217 | 2–3–2 | 6 |
| 8 | October 18 | Florida | 2–3 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,349 | 3–3–2 | 8 |
| 9 | October 20 | Chicago | 6–4 | Toronto | | Raycroft | 19,314 | 3–4–2 | 8 |
| 10 | October 23 | Atlanta | 5–4 | Toronto | SO | Toskala | 19,210 | 3–4–3 | 9 |
| 11 | October 25 | Toronto | 5–2 | Pittsburgh | | Toskala | 17,051 | 4–4–3 | 11 |
| 12 | October 27 | Toronto | 4–1 | N.Y. Rangers | | Toskala | 18,200 | 5–4–3 | 13 |
| 13 | October 29 | Washington | 7–1 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,316 | 5–5–3 | 13 |

### November

Record: 4–6–3; Home: 1–1–3; Road: 3–5–0
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 14 | November 2 | Toronto | 2–3 | New Jersey | | Toskala | 14,523 | 5–6–3 | 13 |
| 15 | November 3 | Toronto | 3–2 | Montreal | | Toskala | 21,273 | 6–6–3 | 15 |
| 16 | November 6 | Toronto | 1–5 | Ottawa | | Toskala | 19,613 | 6–7–3 | 15 |
| 17 | November 9 | Toronto | 3–0 | Buffalo | | Raycroft | 18,690 | 7–7–3 | 17 |
| 18 | November 10 † | N.Y. Rangers | 3–2 | Toronto | SO | Toskala | 19,503 | 7–7–4 | 18 |
| 19 | November 13 | Montreal | 4–3 | Toronto | OT | Raycroft | 19,595 | 7–7–5 | 19 |
| 20 | November 15 | Toronto | 2–5 | Boston | | Raycroft | 16,373 | 7–8–5 | 19 |
| 21 | November 17 | Ottawa | 0–3 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,596 | 8–8–5 | 21 |
| 22 | November 20 | Boston | 4–2 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,441 | 8–9–5 | 21 |
| 23 | November 23 | Toronto | 1–3 | Dallas | | Toskala | 18,409 | 8–10–5 | 21 |
| 24 | November 24 | Toronto | 1–5 | Phoenix | | Raycroft | 17,190 | 8–11–5 | 21 |
| 25 | November 27 | Montreal | 4–3 | Toronto | SO | Toskala | 19,608 | 8–11–6 | 22 |
| 26 | November 29 | Toronto | 4–2 | Atlanta | | Toskala | 14,031 | 9–11–6 | 24 |

### December

Record: 6–5–2; Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–3–2
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 27 | December 1 | Pittsburgh | 2–4 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,534 | 10–11–6 | 26 |
| 28 | December 4 | Nashville | 1–3 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,400 | 11–11–6 | 28 |
| 29 | December 6 | Toronto | 6–2 | N.Y. Rangers | | Toskala | 18,200 | 12–11–6 | 30 |
| 30 | December 8 | Boston | 2–1 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,441 | 12–12–6 | 30 |
| 31 | December 10 | Tampa Bay | 1–6 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,454 | 13–12–6 | 32 |
| 32 | December 14 | Toronto | 4–0 | Atlanta | | Toskala | 16,424 | 14–12–6 | 34 |
| 33 | December 15 | Toronto | 1–4 | Montreal | | Toskala | 21,273 | 14–13–6 | 34 |
| 34 | December 18 | Toronto | 2–3 | Carolina | OT | Toskala | 17,045 | 14–13–7 | 35 |
| 35 | December 20 | Toronto | 1–2 | Tampa Bay | | Toskala | 19,131 | 14–14–7 | 35 |
| 36 | December 22 | Toronto | 2–1 | Florida | OT | Toskala | 18,500 | 15–14–7 | 37 |
| 37 | December 26 | Toronto | 3–4 | N.Y. Islanders | OT | Raycroft | 15,301 | 15–14–8 | 38 |
| 38 | December 27 | Toronto | 1–4 | Philadelphia | | Raycroft | 19,727 | 15–15–8 | 38 |
| 39 | December 29 | N.Y. Rangers | 6–1 | Toronto | | Raycroft | 19,408 | 15–16–8 | 38 |

### January

Record:5–8–1; Home: 4–2–0; Road: 1–6–1
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 40 | January 1 | Tampa Bay | 3–4 | Toronto | SO | Clemmensen | 19,347 | 16–16–8 | 40 |
| 41 | January 3 | Toronto | 2–6 | Pittsburgh | | Clemmensen | 17,074 | 16–17–8 | 40 |
| 42 | January 5 | Philadelphia | 3–2 | Toronto | | Raycroft | 19,412 | 16–18–8 | 40 |
| 43 | January 9 | Toronto | 0–5 | Anaheim | | Toskala | 17,174 | 16–19–8 | 40 |
| 44 | January 10 | Toronto | 2–5 | Los Angeles | | Raycroft | 18,118 | 16–20–8 | 40 |
| 45 | January 12 | Toronto | 2–3 | San Jose | | Toskala | 17,496 | 16–21–8 | 40 |
| 46 | January 15 | Carolina | 4–5 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,444 | 17–21–8 | 42 |
| 47 | January 17 | Toronto | 3–2 | Boston | SO | Toskala | 13,907 | 18–21–8 | 44 |
| 48 | January 19 | Buffalo | 2–4 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,436 | 19–21–8 | 46 |
| 49 | January 20 | Toronto | 2–3 | New Jersey | | Raycroft | 15,291 | 19–22–8 | 46 |
| 50 | January 23 | Washington | 2–3 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,479 | 20–22–8 | 48 |
| 51 | January 24 | Toronto | 1–2 | Washington | | Toskala | 14,094 | 20–23–8 | 48 |
| 52 | January 29 | St. Louis | 3–2 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,363 | 20–24–8 | 48 |
| 53 | January 31 | Toronto | 2–3 | Carolina | OT | Toskala | 15,159 | 20–24–9 | 49 |

### February

Record: 8–4–1; Home: 5–3–0; Road: 3–1–1
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 54 | February 2 | Ottawa | 2–4 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,543 | 21–24–9 | 51 |
| 55 | February 5 | Florida | 8–0 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,430 | 21–25–9 | 51 |
| 56 | February 7 | Toronto | 4–2 | Montreal | | Toskala | 21,273 | 22–25–9 | 53 |
| 57 | February 9 | Detroit | 2–3 | Toronto | OT | Toskala | 19,510 | 23–25–9 | 55 |
| 58 | February 13 | Toronto | 0–1 | Buffalo | | Toskala | 18,690 | 23–26–9 | 55 |
| 59 | February 14 | NY Islanders | 5–4 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,227 | 23–27–9 | 55 |
| 60 | February 16 | Boston | 3–4 | Toronto | OT | Toskala | 19,481 | 24–27–9 | 57 |
| 61 | February 19 | Columbus | 1–3 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,347 | 25–27–9 | 59 |
| 62 | February 21 | Buffalo | 5–1 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,467 | 25–28–9 | 59 |
| 63 | February 23 | Atlanta | 1–3 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,390 | 26–28–9 | 61 |
| 64 | February 25 | Toronto | 5–0 | Ottawa | | Toskala | 19,861 | 27–28–9 | 63 |
| 65 | February 27 | Toronto | 4–3 | Florida | SO | Toskala | 14,557 | 28–28–9 | 65 |
| 66 | February 29 | Toronto | 2–3 | Tampa Bay | OT | Toskala | 20,641 | 28–28–10 | 66 |

### March

Record: 8–5–0; Home: 2–4–0; Road: 6–1–0
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 67 | March 1 | Toronto | 3–2 | Washington | | Toskala | 18,277 | 29–28–10 | 68 |
| 68 | March 4 | New Jersey | 4–1 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,507 | 29–29–10 | 68 |
| 69 | March 6 | Toronto | 8–2 | Boston | | Toskala | 15,483 | 30–29–10 | 70 |
| 70 | March 8 | New Jersey | 2–1 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,469 | 30–30–10 | 70 |
| 71 | March 11 | Philadelphia | 3–4 | Toronto | OT | Toskala | 19,507 | 31–30–10 | 72 |
| 72 | March 12 | Toronto | 3–2 | Philadelphia | | Toskala | 19,642 | 32–30–10 | 74 |
| 73 | March 15 | Buffalo | 6–2 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,462 | 32–31–10 | 74 |
| 74 | March 18 | Toronto | 3–1 | NY Islanders | | Toskala | 13,134 | 33–31–10 | 76 |
| 75 | March 21 | Toronto | 4–1 | Buffalo | | Toskala | 18,690 | 34–31–10 | 78 |
| 76 | March 22 | Toronto | 5–4 | Ottawa | | Toskala | 20,183 | 35–31–10 | 80 |
| 77 | March 25 | Boston | 6–2 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,562 | 35–32–10 | 80 |
| 78 | March 27 | Toronto | 2–4 | Boston | | Toskala | 16,659 | 35–33–10 | 80 |
| 79 | March 29 | Montreal | 2–4 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,584 | 36–33–10 | 82 |

### April

Record: 0–2–1; Home: 0–1–1; Road: 0–1–0
| Game # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Points |
| 80 | April 1 | Buffalo | 4–3 | Toronto | SO | Raycroft | 19,288 | 36–33–11 | 83 |
| 81 | April 3 | Ottawa | 8–2 | Toronto | | Toskala | 19,466 | 36–34–11 | 83 |
| 82 | April 5 | Toronto | 1–3 | Montreal | | Raycroft | 21,273 | 36–35–11 | 83 |
* † Hockey Hall of Fame Game

### Playoffs

On March 27, 2008, the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from postseason contention for the third straight season following a 4–2 loss to the Boston Bruins.

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Mats Sundin | 74 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 17 | 76 |
| Nik Antropov | 72 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 10 | 92 |
| Tomas Kaberle | 82 | 8 | 45 | 53 | -8 | 22 |
| Jason Blake | 82 | 15 | 37 | 52 | -4 | 28 |
| Alexander Steen | 76 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 0 | 32 |
| Pavel Kubina | 72 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 5 | 116 |
| Alexei Ponikarovsky | 66 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 3 | 36 |
| Darcy Tucker | 74 | 18 | 16 | 34 | -8 | 100 |
| Matt Stajan | 82 | 16 | 17 | 33 | -11 | 47 |
| Bryan McCabe | 54 | 5 | 18 | 23 | -2 | 81 |
| Kyle Wellwood | 59 | 8 | 13 | 21 | -12 | 0 |
| Ian White | 81 | 5 | 16 | 21 | -9 | 44 |
| Hal Gill$^‡$ | 63 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 0 | 52 |
| Boyd Devereaux | 62 | 7 | 11 | 18 | -6 | 24 |
| Chad Kilger | 53 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 18 |
| Jiri Tlusty | 58 | 10 | 6 | 16 | -12 | 14 |
| Dominic Moore$^†$ | 38 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 14 |
| Mark Bell | 35 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -2 | 60 |
| Anton Stralman | 50 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -10 | 18 |
| Andy Wozniewski | 48 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 54 |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | 28 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -4 | 10 |
| John Pohl | 33 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -4 | 10 |
| Simon Gamache | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 6 |
| Jeremy Williams | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 4 |
| Kris Newbury | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -7 | 32 |
| Wade Belak$^‡$ | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 66 |
| Robbie Earl | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Darryl Boyce | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Foster | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Ondrus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 5 |
| Bates Battaglia | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 7 |
| Staffan Kronwall | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 7 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Vesa Toskala | 66 | 64 | 3837 | 33 | 25 | 6 | 175 | 2.74 | 1824 | .904 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Andrew Raycroft | 19 | 16 | 965 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 63 | 3.92 | 509 | .876 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Clemmensen | 3 | 2 | 154 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3.90 | 62 | .839 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Maple Leafs. Stats reflect time with Maple Leafs only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and records
### Records

* On October 11, 2007, in an 8–1 victory over the New York Islanders, Mats Sundin scored his 390th goal as a Leaf, and earned his 917th point in a Leaf uniform breaking Darryl Sittler's team record as the all-time points and goals leader.

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Tomas Kaberle | 600th NHL Game | October 3, 2007 |
| Darcy Tucker | 1,200th NHL PIM | October 9, 2007 |
| Matt Stajan | 100th NHL Point | October 11, 2007 |
| Andy Wozniewski | 1st NHL Goal | October 11, 2007 |
| Bryan McCabe | 1,500th NHL PIM | October 13, 2007 |
| Mats Sundin | 1,000th NHL PIM | October 13, 2007 |
| Nik Antropov | 200th NHL Point | October 18, 2007 |
| Pavel Kubina | 600th NHL Game | October 18, 2007 |
| Wade Belak | 400th NHL Game | October 20, 2007 |
| Chad Kilger | 100th NHL Goal | October 20, 2007 |
| Anton Stralman | 1st NHL Game | October 23, 2007 |
| Jiri Tlusty | 1st NHL Game 1st NHL Goal 1st NHL Point | October 25, 2007 |
| Ian White | 100th NHL Game | October 27, 2007 |
| Jason Blake | 300th NHL Point | November 2, 2007 |
| Jiri Tlusty | 1st NHL Assist | November 2, 2007 |
| Mats Sundin | 400th Goal with the Leafs | November 27, 2007 |
| Scott Clemmensen | 1st NHL Win with the Leafs | January 1, 2008 |
| Anton Stralman | 1st NHL Goal | March 21, 2008 |

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

### Trades

| June 22, 2007 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Vesa Toskala Mark Bell | To San Jose Sharks 1st round pick in 2007 (Lars Eller) 2nd round pick in 2007 (Aaron Palushaj) 4th round pick in 2009 (Craig Smith) |
| February 26, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 5th round pick in 2008 (Jerome Flaake) | To Florida Panthers Wade Belak |
| February 26, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 3rd round pick in 2008 (James Livingston) | To Florida Panthers Chad Kilger |
| February 26, 2008 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd round pick in 2008 (Jimmy Hayes) 5th round pick in 2009 (Andy Bathgate) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Hal Gill |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Jason Blake | New York Islanders | 5-year, $20 million |
| Scott Clemmensen | New Jersey Devils | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Player | New team |
| Yanic Perreault | Chicago Blackhawks |

### Claimed from waivers

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers |
| Dominic Moore | Minnesota Wild | January 11, 2008 |

## Draft picks

Toronto's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 3 | 74 | Dale Mitchell | RW | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 4 | 99 | Matt Frattin | RW | Canada | Fort Saskatchewan Traders (AJHL) |
| 4 | 104 | Ben Winnett | LW | Canada | Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) |
| 5 | 134 | Juraj Mikus | D | Slovakia | Dukla Trenčín (Slovak Extraliga) |
| 6 | 164 | Chris DiDomenico | C | Canada | Saint John Sea Dogs (QJHML) |
| 7 | 194 | Carl Gunnarsson | D | Sweden | Linköpings HC (Elitserien) |