# 2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs season is the franchise's 93rd, and their 83rd as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs had not qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs since the 2003–04 season, and began the regular season with its worst start in franchise history by going winless in the first eight games.

## Team business

The team moved to a new practice facility, the MasterCard Centre, from their former practice facility, the Lakeshore Lions Arena. Built next door to the old arena, the new facility has four ice sheets, allowing the Maple Leafs and their farm team the Toronto Marlies to practice simultaneously on separate sheets.

## Off-season

At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Maple Leafs chose centre Nazem Kadri with their first round pick, seventh overall.
In free agency, the Maple Leafs signed two defencemen of note – Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens and Francois Beauchemin of the Anaheim Ducks, signing both to multiple-year deals. At the same time, defenceman Pavel Kubina was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for fellow defenceman Garnet Exelby. The Leafs also signed free agents Colton Orr and Tim Brent.
After extensive talks, the Leafs were able to sign highly regarded Swedish free agent goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who was considering offers from several NHL teams.
The Leafs dealt for Boston Bruins' forward Phil Kessel, trading two first round draft picks and a second round draft pick. Kessel started the season on the injured list as he was recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery.

## Regular season

The Leafs got off to a slow start to the NHL season, with a record of 0–7–1, the worst start for the Leafs since the NHL formed in 1917. Additionally, the Leafs surrendered the first goal to their opposition in each of their first 11 games, and 17 of their first 19 games.
The Leafs struggled on the power play during the regular season, finishing 30th in power-play percentage, at just 13.97% (44 for 315). They also struggled on the penalty kill, allowing the most power-play goals in the League, with 73, and having the lowest penalty-kill percentage, at 74.65%.

### Divisional standings

Northeast Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 2 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 263 | 74 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 54 | 15 | 13 | 318 | 233 | 121 |
| 2 | y – New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 234 | 256 | 83 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 230 | 256 | 80 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 217 | 260 | 80 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 208 | 244 | 77 |
| 15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 267 | 74 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

### Game log

2009–10 Game Log :
October: 1–7–4 (Home: 0–4–1; Road: 1–3–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
1October 1Montreal Canadiens3–4 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,6170–0–11
2October 3@ Washington Capitals4–6Verizon Center18,2770–1–11
3October 6Ottawa Senators1–2Air Canada Centre18,8300–2–11
4October 10Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Air Canada Centre19,3740–3–11
5October 12@ New York Rangers2–7Madison Square Garden18,2000–4–11
6October 13Colorado Avalanche1–4Air Canada Centre19,1480–5–11
7October 17New York Rangers1–4Air Canada Centre19,2950–6–11
8October 24@ Vancouver Canucks1–3GM Place18,8100–7–11
9October 26@ Anaheim Ducks6–3Honda Center14,2911–7–13
10October 28@ Dallas Stars3–4 (OT)American Airlines Center16,3021–7–24
11October 30@ Buffalo Sabres2–3 (OT)HSBC Arena18,3001–7–35
12October 31@ Montreal Canadiens4–5 (SO)Bell Centre21,2731–7–46 :
November: 5–5–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 3–2–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
13November 3Tampa Bay Lightning1–2 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,3011–7–57
14November 6@ Carolina Hurricanes3–2RBC Center14,1642–7–59
15November 7 †Detroit Red Wings5–1Air Canada Centre19,3033–7–511
16November 10Minnesota Wild2–5Air Canada Centre19,0633–8–511
17November 13@ Chicago Blackhawks2–3United Center21,0363–9–511
18November 14Calgary Flames2–5Air Canada Centre19,3163–10–511
19November 17@ Ottawa Senators2–3Scotiabank Place17,4063–11–511
20November 19@ Carolina Hurricanes5–6 (SO)RBC Centre13,5023–11–612
21November 21Washington Capitals2–1 (SO)Air Canada Centre19,4554–11–614
22November 23New York Islanders3–4 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,2634–11–715
23November 25@ Tampa Bay Lightning4–3St. Pete Times Forum15,3335–11–717
24November 27@ Florida Panthers6–4BankAtlantic Center16,1016–11–719
25November 30Buffalo Sabres0–3Air Canada Centre19,1106–12–719 :
December: 8–6–2 (Home: 5–1–2; Road: 3–5–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
26December 1@ Montreal Canadiens3–0Bell Centre21,2737–12–721
27December 3@ Columbus Blue Jackets6–3Nationwide Arena13,8258–12–723
28December 5@ Boston Bruins2–7TD Garden17,5658–13–723
29December 7Atlanta Thrashers5–2Air Canada Centre19,0509–13–725
30December 9New York Islanders3–2Air Canada Centre19,10210–13–727
31December 10@ Boston Bruins2–5TD Garden17,56510–14–727
32December 12Washington Capitals6–3Air Canada Centre19,31611–14–729
33December 14Ottawa Senators3–2Air Canada Centre19,31512–14–731
34December 16Phoenix Coyotes3–6Air Canada Centre19,08812–15–731
35December 18@ Buffalo Sabres2–5HSBC Arena18,15912–16–731
36December 19Boston Bruins2–0Air Canada Centre19,10113–16–733
37December 21Buffalo Sabres2–3 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,23513–16–834
38December 23@ New York Islanders1–3Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,86513–17–834
39December 26Montreal Canadiens2–3 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,25013–17–935
40December 27@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–3Mellon Arena17,13214–17–937
41December 30@ Edmonton Oilers1–3Rexall Place16,83914–18–937 :
January: 3–10–2 (Home: 2–4–0; Road: 1–6–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
42January 2@ Calgary Flames1–3Pengrowth Saddledome19,28914–19–937
43January 5Florida Panthers3–2Air Canada Centre18,98415–19–939
44January 6@ Philadelphia Flyers2–6Wachovia Center19,61715–20–939
45January 8@ Buffalo Sabres2–3HSBC Arena18,69015–21–939
46January 9Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Air Canada Centre19,56715–22–939
47January 12Carolina Hurricanes2–4Air Canada Centre19,12015–23–939
48January 14Philadelphia Flyers4–0Air Canada Centre19,37016–23–941
49January 15@ Washington Capitals1–6Verizon Center18,27716–24–941
50January 18@ Nashville Predators4–3Sommet Center16,50117–24–943
51January 19@ Atlanta Thrashers3–4Philips Arena10,20817–25–943
52January 21@ Tampa Bay Lightning2–3 (OT)St. Pete Times Forum13,69117–25–1044
53January 23@ Florida Panthers0–2BankAtlantic Center18,08717–26–1044
54January 26Los Angeles Kings3–5Air Canada Centre19,32217–27–1044
55January 29@ New Jersey Devils4–5 (OT)Prudential Center15,53617–27–1145
56January 30Vancouver Canucks3–5Air Canada Centre19,53417–28–1145 :
February: 2–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 0–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
57February 2New Jersey Devils3–0Air Canada Centre19,32618–28–1147
58February 5@ New Jersey Devils3–4Prudential Center15,20418–29–1147
59February 6Ottawa Senators5–0Air Canada Centre19,42619–29–1149
60February 8San Jose Sharks2–3Air Canada Centre19,46019–30–1149
61February 12@ St. Louis Blues0–4Scottrade Center19,15019–31–1149 :
March: 9–5–2 (Home: 6–3–0; Road: 3–2–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
62March 2Carolina Hurricanes1–5Air Canada Centre19,09619–32–1149
63March 4@ Boston Bruins2–3 (SO)TD Garden17,56519–32–1250
64March 6@ Ottawa Senators2–1 (SO)Scotiabank Place20,03620–32–1252
65March 7@ Philadelphia Flyers1–3Wachovia Center19,63220–33–1252
66March 9Boston Bruins4–3 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,49921–33–1254
67March 11Tampa Bay Lightning4–3 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,11022–33–1256
68March 13Edmonton Oilers6–4Air Canada Centre19,24323–33–1258
69March 14@ New York Islanders1–4Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,80423–34–1258
70March 16@ Ottawa Senators4–1Scotiabank Place20,40524–34–1260
71March 18New Jersey Devils2–1 (SO)Air Canada Centre19,18325–34–1262
72March 20Montreal Canadiens3–2 (SO)Air Canada Centre19,53826–34–1264
73March 23Florida Panthers1–4Air Canada Centre19,15826–35–1264
74March 25@ Atlanta Thrashers2–1 (OT)Philips Arena14,14827–35–1266
75March 27New York Rangers3–2 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,40528–35–1268
76March 28@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–5 (SO)Mellon Arena17,10428–35–1369
77March 30Atlanta Thrashers2–3Air Canada Centre19,07928–36–1369 :
April: 2–2–1 (Home: 1–1–1; Road: 1–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPoints
78April 1Buffalo Sabres4–2Air Canada Centre19,09029–36–1371
79April 3Boston Bruins1–2 (OT)Air Canada Centre19,27329–36–1472
80April 6Philadelphia Flyers0–2Air Canada Centre19,36629–37–1472
81April 7@ New York Rangers1–5Madison Square Garden18,20029–38–1472
82April 10@ Montreal Canadiens4–3 (OT)Bell Centre21,27330–38–1474 :
† Hockey Hall of Fame Game :
Schedule :

### Overtime statistics

| | Games | Won | Lost | Goal Scorers |
| Overtime | 15 | 5 | 10 | Kulemin (2), Kessel (1), Grabovski (1), Phaneuf (1) |
| Shootout | 8 | 4 | 4 | |
| | 23 | 9 | 14 | |

### Record based on Toronto (or opposition) scoring first goal(s)

updated to game played April 10, 2010
| Score (ONLY) | Games | Team Record | Score (ONLY) | Games | Team Record | Score (AT LEAST) | Games | Team Record | Score (AT LEAST) | Games | Team Record |
| 1–0 | 14 | 5–4–5 | 0–1 | 20 | 7–7–6 | 1–0 | 30 | 18–6–6 | 0–1 | 52 | 12–32–8 |
| 2–0 | 6 | 5–1–0 | 0–2 | 17 | 5–11–1 | 2–0 | 16 | 13–2–1 | 0–2 | 32 | 5–25–2 |
| 3–0 | 7 | 5–1–1 | 0–3 | 10 | 0–9–1 | 3–0 | 10 | 8–1–1 | 0–3 | 15 | 0–14–1 |
| 4-0+ | 3 | 3–0–0 | 0-4+ | 5 | 0–5–0 | 4–0 | 3 | 3–0–0 | 0–4 | 5 | 0–5–0 |
| Total | 30 | 18–6–6 | | 52 | 12–32–8 | | | | | | |
* Toronto's score listed first

## Playoffs

The Toronto Maple Leafs were trying to achieve their first qualification since the 2003–04 NHL season, however they were mathematically eliminated after their 77th game. They were the first team eliminated in the Eastern Conference. Currently, only the Florida Panthers have failed to qualify for the playoffs for more consecutive years.

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Phil Kessel | 70 | 30 | 25 | 55 | −8 | 21 |
| Tomas Kaberle | 82 | 7 | 42 | 49 | −16 | 24 |
| Alexei Ponikarovsky$^‡$ | 61 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 5 | 44 |
| Matt Stajan$^‡$ | 55 | 16 | 25 | 41 | −3 | 30 |
| Nikolai Kulemin | 78 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 0 | 16 |
| Mikhail Grabovski | 59 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 3 | 10 |
| Niklas Hagman$^‡$ | 55 | 20 | 13 | 33 | −3 | 23 |
| Lee Stempniak$^‡$ | 62 | 14 | 16 | 30 | −10 | 18 |
| Tyler Bozak | 37 | 8 | 19 | 27 | −5 | 6 |
| Jason Blake$^‡$ | 56 | 10 | 16 | 26 | −4 | 26 |
| Ian White$^‡$ | 56 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 1 | 39 |
| Francois Beauchemin | 82 | 5 | 21 | 26 | −13 | 33 |
| John Mitchell | 60 | 6 | 17 | 23 | −7 | 31 |
| Luke Schenn | 79 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 2 | 50 |
| Carl Gunnarsson | 43 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 10 |
| Viktor Stalberg | 40 | 9 | 5 | 14 | −13 | 30 |
| Jeff Finger | 39 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −11 | 20 |
| Dion Phaneuf$^†$ | 26 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 34 |
| Rickard Wallin | 60 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −7 | 20 |
| Wayne Primeau | 59 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −1 | 35 |
| Jamal Mayers$^‡$ | 44 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −5 | 78 |
| Christian Hanson | 31 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 16 |
| Colton Orr | 82 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 239 |
| Luca Caputi$^†$ | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Fredrik Sjostrom$^†$ | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −4 | 4 |
| Garnet Exelby | 51 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −8 | 73 |
| Mike Komisarek | 34 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −9 | 40 |
| Jamie Lundmark$^†$ | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 16 |
| Jay Rosehill | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 67 |
| Tim Brent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Deveaux | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Brayden Irwin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jiri Tlusty$^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Jonas Gustavsson | 42 | 39 | 2340 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 112 | 2.87 | 1146 | .902 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Vesa Toskala$^‡$ | 26 | 23 | 1393 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 85 | 3.66 | 676 | .874 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere$^†$ | 15 | 15 | 915 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 38 | 2.49 | 451 | .916 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joey MacDonald$^‡$ | 6 | 5 | 319 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 3.20 | 157 | .892 | 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
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |

### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Tomas Kaberle | NHL First Star of the Week | November 2, 2009 |
| Niklas Hagman | NHL Third Star of the Week | November 30, 2009 |
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere | NHL Second Star of the Week | February 8, 2010 |

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 1, 2009 | To Toronto Maple LeafsGarnet Exelby Colin Stuart | To Atlanta ThrashersPavel Kubina Tim Stapleton |
| July 27, 2009 | To Toronto Maple LeafsWayne Primeau 2nd-round pick in 2011 | To Calgary FlamesAnton Stralman Colin Stuart 7th-round pick in 2012 |
| August 10, 2009 | To Toronto Maple LeafsConditional 6th-round pick in 2011 | To Anaheim DucksJustin Pogge |
| September 6, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd-round pick in 2010 | To Chicago Blackhawks 2nd-round pick in 2011 3rd-round pick in 2011 |
| September 18, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Phil Kessel | To Boston Bruins 1st-round pick in 2010 1st-round pick in 2011 2nd-round pick in 2010 |
| December 3, 2009 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Philippe Paradis | To Carolina Hurricanes Jiri Tlusty |
| January 31, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Dion Phaneuf Fredrik Sjostrom Keith Aulie | To Calgary Flames Matt Stajan Jamal Mayers Niklas Hagman Ian White |
| January 31, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Jean-Sebastien Giguere | To Anaheim Ducks Vesa Toskala Jason Blake |
| March 2, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Luca Caputi Martin Skoula | To Pittsburgh Penguins Alexei Ponikarovsky |
| March 3, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 5th-round pick in 2010 | To New Jersey Devils Martin Skoula |
| March 3, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Matt Jones 4th-round pick in 2010 7th-round pick in 2010 | To Phoenix Coyotes Lee Stempniak |
| March 3, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs 7th-round pick in 2011 | To Anaheim Ducks Joey MacDonald |
| March 3, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Chris Peluso | To Pittsburgh Penguins 6th-round pick in 2010 |
Lost via retirement
Player
Olaf Kolzig
Curtis Joseph
Player signings
PlayerContract terms
Mikhail Grabovski3 years, $8.7 million
Nazem Kadri3-year entry-level contract
Ben Ondrus1 year
Ryan Hamilton1 year
Andre Deveaux1 year
Darryl Boyce2 years
Alex Foster1 year
Justin Pogge1 year, $605,000
Phil Kessel5 years, $27 million
Jesse Blacker3-year entry-level contract
Jonas Gustavsson2 years, $2.7 million contract extension :

## Draft picks

Toronto's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (League) |
| 1 | 7 | Nazem Kadri | C | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 2 | 50 (from NY Rangers) | Kenny Ryan | RW | United States | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| 2 | 58 (from Carolina via Edmonton and Buffalo) | Jesse Blacker | D | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 3 | 68 | Jamie Devane | LW | Canada | Plymouth Whalers (OHL) |
| 4 | 118 (From Carolina via Tampa Bay) | Forfeited because of Jonas Frogren contract | | | |
| 5 | 128 | Eric Knodel | D | United States | Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (AYHL) |
| 6 | 158 | Jerry D'Amigo | RW | United States | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC) |
| 7 | 188 | Barron Smith | (D) | United States | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |