# 1997–98 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1997–98 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 81st season in the National Hockey League (NHL), their last full season playing at Maple Leaf Gardens, and their last season playing in the Western Conference. Just a few days before the season's start, Mats Sundin became their 17th captain and their first European captain in their 80-year history. The Maple Leafs did not qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 3 | 4 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 4 | 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 5 | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 6 | 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
| 8 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
| 11 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | 224 | 273 | 64 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Schedule and results

1997–98 regular season :
October: 3–6–2 (home: 1–4–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 1, 19971–4Washington Capitals (1997–98)0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 4, 19970–3@ New York Islanders (1997–98)0–2–0Recap
3WOctober 7, 19972–1@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)1–2–0Recap
4TOctober 9, 19972–2 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)1–2–1Recap
5LOctober 11, 19971–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)1–3–1Recap
6LOctober 14, 19972–3Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)1–4–1Recap
7WOctober 15, 19974–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)2–4–1Recap
8LOctober 18, 19974–5Dallas Stars (1997–98)2–5–1Recap
9LOctober 22, 19972–6Ottawa Senators (1997–98)2–6–1Recap
10WOctober 25, 19974–3Calgary Flames (1997–98)3–6–1Recap
11TOctober 28, 19972–2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)3–6–2Recap :
November: 5–7–1 (home: 3–4–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12LNovember 1, 19971–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)3–7–2Recap
13TNovember 4, 19970–0 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)3–7–3Recap
14WNovember 5, 19974–3@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)4–7–3Recap
15LNovember 8, 19970–3Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)4–8–3Recap
16WNovember 11, 19975–2Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)5–8–3Recap
17WNovember 13, 19972–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)6–8–3Recap
18LNovember 15, 19970–5Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)6–9–3Recap
19LNovember 17, 19972–3St. Louis Blues (1997–98)6–10–3Recap
20WNovember 19, 19973–1Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)7–10–3Recap
21LNovember 21, 19971–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)7–11–3Recap
22LNovember 22, 19970–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)7–12–3Recap
23WNovember 25, 19973–1San Jose Sharks (1997–98)8–12–3Recap
24LNovember 29, 19972–4Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)8–13–3Recap :
December: 5–6–3 (home: 3–2–3; road: 2–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25TDecember 2, 19973–3 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)8–13–4Recap
26LDecember 4, 19973–4@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)8–14–4Recap
27WDecember 6, 19977–2Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)9–14–4Recap
28WDecember 8, 19973–0Dallas Stars (1997–98)10–14–4Recap
29TDecember 10, 19972–2 OTColorado Avalanche (1997–98)10–14–5Recap
30LDecember 13, 19970–3New Jersey Devils (1997–98)10–15–5Recap
31LDecember 15, 19972–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)10–16–5Recap
32WDecember 17, 19976–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)11–16–5Recap
33LDecember 18, 19972–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)11–17–5Recap
34WDecember 20, 19973–2@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)12–17–5Recap
35WDecember 23, 19975–4Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)13–17–5Recap
36LDecember 26, 19971–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)13–18–5Recap
37LDecember 27, 19971–8Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)13–19–5Recap
38TDecember 31, 19972–2 OTBoston Bruins (1997–98)13–19–6Recap :
January: 4–8–1 (home: 1–3–0; road: 3–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39TJanuary 1, 19983–3 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)13–19–7Recap
40LJanuary 3, 19982–4@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)13–20–7Recap
41LJanuary 6, 19983–5@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)13–21–7Recap
42WJanuary 7, 19985–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)14–21–7Recap
43LJanuary 10, 19983–4Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)14–22–7Recap
44LJanuary 12, 19982–3@ New York Rangers (1997–98)14–23–7Recap
45LJanuary 14, 19981–4Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)14–24–7Recap
46WJanuary 21, 19983–0@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)15–24–7Recap
47WJanuary 22, 19983–0@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)16–24–7Recap
48WJanuary 24, 19985–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)17–24–7Recap
49LJanuary 26, 19981–5@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)17–25–7Recap
50LJanuary 29, 19980–2@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)17–26–7Recap
51LJanuary 31, 19982–5Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)17–27–7Recap :
February: 3–3–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 0–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
52LFebruary 2, 19981–5Dallas Stars (1997–98)17–28–7Recap
53WFebruary 4, 19983–2St. Louis Blues (1997–98)18–28–7Recap
54LFebruary 5, 19982–3@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)18–29–7Recap
55WFebruary 7, 19983–2Florida Panthers (1997–98)19–29–7Recap
56TFebruary 25, 19982–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)19–29–8Recap
57LFebruary 26, 19982–5New York Rangers (1997–98)19–30–8Recap
58WFebruary 28, 19984–0Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)20–30–8Recap :
March: 6–8–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 3–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
59LMarch 2, 19981–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)20–31–8Recap
60LMarch 4, 19983–5Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)20–32–8Recap
61WMarch 7, 19984–1Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)21–32–8Recap
62LMarch 9, 19982–3@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)21–33–8Recap
63WMarch 11, 19983–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)22–33–8Recap
64WMarch 12, 19982–1@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)23–33–8Recap
65WMarch 14, 19982–1Calgary Flames (1997–98)24–33–8Recap
66LMarch 16, 19981–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)24–34–8Recap
67LMarch 18, 19982–5Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)24–35–8Recap
68LMarch 19, 19980–4@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)24–36–8Recap
69TMarch 21, 19981–1 OTVancouver Canucks (1997–98)24–36–9Recap
70LMarch 24, 19982–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98)24–37–9Recap
71WMarch 26, 19981–0@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)25–37–9Recap
72WMarch 28, 19984–3 OTNew York Islanders (1997–98)26–37–9Recap
73LMarch 30, 19982–3Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)26–38–9Recap :
April: 4–5–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
74LApril 1, 19984–6St. Louis Blues (1997–98)26–39–9Recap
75LApril 4, 19983–5San Jose Sharks (1997–98)26–40–9Recap
76LApril 6, 19982–4@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)26–41–9Recap
77WApril 7, 19983–1@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)27–41–9Recap
78LApril 9, 19982–5@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)27–42–9Recap
79WApril 11, 19985–1Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)28–42–9Recap
80WApril 15, 19983–2Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)29–42–9Recap
81LApril 18, 19983–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)29–43–9Recap
82WApril 19, 19982–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)30–43–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Maple Leafs only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Maple Leafs only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 13 | Mats Sundin | C | 82 | 33 | 41 | 74 | −3 | 49 |
| 20 | Mike Johnson | RW | 82 | 15 | 32 | 47 | −4 | 24 |
| 7 | Derek King | LW | 77 | 21 | 25 | 46 | −7 | 43 |
| 22 | Igor Korolev | RW | 78 | 17 | 22 | 39 | −18 | 22 |
| 72 | Mathieu Schneider | D | 76 | 11 | 26 | 37 | −12 | 44 |
| 19 | Fredrik Modin | RW | 74 | 16 | 16 | 32 | −5 | 32 |
| 94 | Sergei Berezin | LW | 68 | 16 | 15 | 31 | −3 | 10 |
| 11 | Steve Sullivan | C | 63 | 10 | 18 | 28 | −8 | 40 |
| 17 | Wendel Clark | LW | 47 | 12 | 7 | 19 | −21 | 80 |
| 18 | Alyn McCauley | C | 60 | 6 | 10 | 16 | −7 | 6 |
| 25 | Jason Smith | D | 81 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −5 | 100 |
| 28 | Tie Domi | RW | 80 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −5 | 365 |
| 8 | Todd Warriner | LW | 45 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 20 |
| 14 | Darby Hendrickson | C | 80 | 8 | 4 | 12 | −20 | 67 |
| 36 | Dmitri Yushkevich | D | 72 | 0 | 12 | 12 | −13 | 78 |
| 3 | Sylvain Cote† | D | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 6 |
| 33 | Jeff Brown†‡ | D | 19 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 10 |
| 55 | Danny Markov | D | 25 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| 34 | Jamie Macoun‡ | D | 67 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −17 | 63 |
| 2 | Rob Zettler | D | 59 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −8 | 108 |
| 16 | Lonny Bohonos† | RW | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | Kris King | LW | 82 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −13 | 199 |
| 21 | Martin Prochazka | LW | 29 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −1 | 8 |
| 38 | Yannick Tremblay | D | 38 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −6 | 6 |
| 24 | Per Gustafsson‡ | D | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −5 | 10 |
| 16 | Jamie Baker | C | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 33 | David Cooper | D | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 39 | Mike Kennedy‡ | RW | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 14 |
| 42 | Kevyn Adams | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 31 | Marcel Cousineau | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 30 | Glenn Healy | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 29 | Felix Potvin | G | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 |
| 23 | Jeff Ware | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Craig Wolanin | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −9 | 6 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 29 | Felix Potvin | 67 | 26 | 33 | 7 | 1882 | 176 | 2.73 | .906 | 5 | 3864 |
| 30 | Glenn Healy | 21 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 453 | 53 | 2.98 | .883 | 0 | 1068 |
| 31 | Marcel Cousineau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0 | 17 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Mike Johnson (Forward) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mats Sundin |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Mike Johnson (December) |
| Team | Molson Cup | Felix Potvin |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Kevyn Adams | October 1, 1997 |
| First game | Alyn McCauley | October 1, 1997 |
| First game | Martin Prochazka | October 9, 1997 |
| First game | Danny Markov | February 2, 1998 |
| 1,000th game played | Jamie Macoun | November 8, 1997 |

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs were involved in the following transactions during the 1997–98 season.

### Trades

| September 30, 1997 | To St. Louis BluesKelly Chase | To Toronto Maple LeafsFuture Considerations |
| January 2, 1998 | To Carolina Hurricanes4th round pick in 1999 – Yevgeny Pavlov | To Toronto Maple LeafsJeff Brown |
| March 7, 1998 | To Vancouver CanucksBrandon Convery | To Toronto Maple LeafsLonny Bohonos |
| March 17, 1998 | To Ottawa SenatorsPer Gustafsson | To Toronto Maple Leafs8th round pick in 1998 – Dwight Wolfe |
| March 24, 1998 | To Dallas StarsMike Kennedy | To Toronto Maple Leafs8th round pick in 1998 – Michal Travnicek |
| March 24, 1998 | To Detroit Red WingsJamie Macoun | To Toronto Maple Leafs4th round pick in 1998 – Alexei Ponikarovsky |
| March 24, 1998 | To Washington CapitalsJeff Brown | To Toronto Maple LeafsSylvain Cote |
| June 27, 1998 | To Chicago Blackhawks1st round pick in 1998 – Mark Bell 4th round pick in 1998 – Matthias Trattnig | To Toronto Maple Leafs1st round pick in 1998 – Nik Antropov 3rd round pick in 1998 – Jamie Hodson 5th round pick in 1998 – Morgan Warren |

### Expansion Draft

| June 26, 1998 | To Nashville PredatorsRob Zettler |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Mike Kennedy | Dallas Stars |
| Derek King | Hartford Whalers |
| Kris King | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Glenn Healy | New York Rangers |
| Kevyn Adams | Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) |
| Igor Korolev | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Player | New Team |
| Jamie Heward | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Mike Craig | San Jose Sharks |

## Draft picks

Toronto's picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 3 | 57 | Jeff Farkas (Centre) | United States | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| 4 | 84 | Adam Mair (Right wing) | Canada | Owen Sound Platers (OHL) |
| 5 | 111 | Frantisek Mrazek (Left wing) | Czech Republic | HC České Budějovice (Czech Republic) |
| 6 | 138 | Eric Gooldy (Left wing) | United States | Detroit Whalers (OHL) |
| 7 | 165 | Hugo Marchand (Defence) | Canada | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 190 | Shawn Thornton (Right wing) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 8 | 194 | Russ Bartlett (Centre) | United States | Phillips Exeter Academy (USHS-NH) |
| 9 | 221 | Jonathan Hedstrom (Left wing) | Sweden | Skellefteå AIK (Sweden) |

## Farm teams

* The Maple Leafs farm team was the St. John's Maple Leafs in St. John's, Newfoundland.