# 2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 89th season of the franchise, 79th season as the Maple Leafs. This season marked the first time since the 1997–98 season that the team did not make the playoffs.

## Off season

Key dates prior to the start of the season:
* The 2005 NHL entry draft took place in Ottawa on July 30, 2005.
* The free agency period began on August 1.

## Regular season

* October 5, 2005 – The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators participate in the first NHL shootout. Daniel Alfredson of the Senators scores the first shootout goal in NHL history.
* October 14, 2005 – The Maple Leafs defeat the Atlanta Thrashers 9–1 at Philips Arena, scoring seven power-play goals on 16 opportunities (43.75%).
* December 19, 2005 – Ed Belfour passes Terry Sawchuk for second all-time in wins by a goaltender in a 9–6 Maple Leafs' victory over the New York Islanders. It was the highest-scoring game of 2005–06 regular-season.
* Six members of the Maple Leafs competed in Ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Bryan McCabe represented Canada; Nik Antropov competed for Kazakhstan; Aki Berg competed for Finland; Tomas Kaberle for the Czech Republic; and Mats Sundin and Mikael Tellqvist captured the gold medal while representing Sweden. Sundin also held the distinction of serving as captain for Sweden.
* April 11, 2006 – Captain Mats Sundin scores four goals and adds two assists for six points in a 6–5 overtime win against the Florida Panthers at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs would go on to lead all 30 teams with most power-play goals scored during the regular season, with 107. Captain Mats Sundin, who scored only 13 goals in his first 49 games of the season, scored 18 goals in his final 21 games, for the 12th 30-goal season of his career. The 32-year-old veteran Eric Lindros, signed by the Maple Leafs on August 11, 2005, had a solid start to the season, scoring seven goals in his first eight games. However, wrist injuries would limit him to 33 games played for the year; he finished with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points. Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe and Darcy Tucker would all have career years, finishing with 68, 67 and 61 points, respectively.
Defensively, the Maple Leafs finished 21st out of 30 in goaltending, allowing 263 goals (excluding seven shootout goals allowed). It was the most goals allowed by a Maple Leafs team since the 1996–97 squad allowed 273. Toronto finished 26th in power-play goals allowed, with 99 and 24th in penalty killing, with 80.04%. While goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin posted a 9–0–2 record with a .924 save percentage and a 2.22 goals against average (GAA), this was at the end of the season, and it proved too little too late to get the Leafs into the playoffs. Starter Ed Belfour finished with a .892 save percentage and a 3.29 GAA with one shutout, while Mikael Tellqvist posted a save percentage of 3.13, with a GAA of 3.13. Furthermore, for the first time since the 1988–89 season, Belfour did not record a shutout during the regular season.
The Maple Leafs finished the regular season with a 41–33–8 record for 90 points, two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, who captured the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Their ninth-place finish meant that the Maple Leafs would miss the playoffs for the first time since 1998. Throughout the season, Toronto struggled against their provincial and divisional rivals, the Ottawa Senators, winning only one game out of eight meetings with a 1–5–2 record. Excluding shootout goals, the Maple Leafs were outscored 39 to 19 and were shut-out twice. Goaltender Ed Belfour went 0–5–2 against the Senators with 34 goals allowed, a 5.20 GAA and a save percentage of .834.

### Season standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 281 | 239 | 110 |
| 3 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 4 | 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 5 | 13 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2005–06 regular season :
October: 6–4–2 (home: 4–3–1; road: 2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 5, 20052–3 SOOttawa Senators (2005–06)0–0–1Recap
2LOctober 8, 20054–5Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)0–1–1Recap
3LOctober 10, 20055–6 SO@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)0–1–2Recap
4WOctober 11, 20054–2Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)1–1–2Recap
5WOctober 14, 20059–1@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)2–1–2Recap
6WOctober 15, 20053–2@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)3–1–2Recap
7WOctober 20, 20055–4 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2005–06)4–1–2Recap
8LOctober 22, 20052–5Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)4–2–2Recap
9WOctober 24, 20055–4 SOBoston Bruins (2005–06)5–2–2Recap
10LOctober 27, 20051–2@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)5–3–2Recap
11LOctober 29, 20050–8Ottawa Senators (2005–06)5–4–2Recap
12WOctober 31, 20052–1Florida Panthers (2005–06)6–4–2Recap :
November: 8–5–1 (home: 5–1–0; road: 3–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13LNovember 3, 20053–4@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)6–5–2Recap
14WNovember 5, 2005 †5–3Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)7–5–2Recap
15LNovember 6, 20054–5@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)7–6–2Recap
16WNovember 8, 20056–4Washington Capitals (2005–06)8–6–2Recap
17LNovember 11, 20052–5@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)8–7–2Recap
18WNovember 12, 20055–4 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)9–7–2Recap
19WNovember 15, 20052–1New York Rangers (2005–06)10–7–2Recap
20WNovember 17, 20054–1@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)11–7–2Recap
21WNovember 19, 20055–1Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)12–7–2Recap
22LNovember 23, 20051–5Boston Bruins (2005–06)12–8–2Recap
23LNovember 25, 20053–4 SO@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)12–8–3Recap
24WNovember 26, 20054–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (2005–06)13–8–3Recap
25WNovember 28, 20052–1@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)14–8–3Recap
26LNovember 30, 20051–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)14–9–3Recap :
December: 8–5–0 (home: 5–3–0; road: 3–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
27WDecember 1, 20054–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)15–9–3Recap
28LDecember 3, 20054–5San Jose Sharks (2005–06)15–10–3Recap
29LDecember 6, 20051–2Los Angeles Kings (2005–06)15–11–3Recap
30LDecember 10, 20051–2Dallas Stars (2005–06)15–12–3Recap
31WDecember 12, 20053–2Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)16–12–3Recap
32LDecember 17, 20052–8@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)16–13–3Recap
33WDecember 19, 20059–6New York Islanders (2005–06)17–13–3Recap
34LDecember 22, 20051–4@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)17–14–3Recap
35WDecember 23, 20052–1Boston Bruins (2005–06)18–14–3Recap
36WDecember 26, 20052–1New Jersey Devils (2005–06)19–14–3Recap
37WDecember 27, 20053–2 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)20–14–3Recap
38WDecember 29, 20054–3 SOBuffalo Sabres (2005–06)21–14–3Recap
39WDecember 31, 20056–3@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)22–14–3Recap :
January: 3–8–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 2–6–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40WJanuary 2, 20063–2 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)23–14–3Recap
41LJanuary 6, 20060–1@ Calgary Flames (2005–06)23–15–3Recap
42WJanuary 7, 20063–2@ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06)24–15–3Recap
43LJanuary 10, 20063–4@ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06)24–16–3Recap
44LJanuary 14, 20063–4Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06)24–17–3Recap
45LJanuary 17, 20063–5@ Colorado Avalanche (2005–06)24–18–3Recap
46LJanuary 18, 20063–5@ Minnesota Wild (2005–06)24–19–3Recap
47LJanuary 21, 20060–7@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)24–20–3Recap
48LJanuary 23, 20063–4@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)24–21–3Recap
49LJanuary 26, 20064–8Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)24–22–3Recap
50LJanuary 28, 20063–4 OTMontreal Canadiens (2005–06)24–22–4Recap
51WJanuary 30, 20064–2@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)25–22–4Recap
52LJanuary 31, 20062–3 SO@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)25–22–5Recap :
February: 2–4–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 0–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
53LFebruary 3, 20061–4@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)25–23–5Recap
54WFebruary 4, 20064–2New Jersey Devils (2005–06)26–23–5Recap
55WFebruary 7, 20064–1Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)27–23–5Recap
56LFebruary 10, 20062–4@ New York Rangers (2005–06)27–24–5Recap
57LFebruary 11, 20062–4New York Rangers (2005–06)27–25–5Recap
58LFebruary 28, 20063–5Washington Capitals (2005–06)27–26–5Recap :
March: 7–6–1 (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
59LMarch 3, 20062–6@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)27–27–5Recap
60LMarch 4, 20062–4Ottawa Senators (2005–06)27–28–5Recap
61WMarch 7, 20065–3Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)28–28–5Recap
62LMarch 10, 20061–2 SO@ New York Islanders (2005–06)28–28–6Recap
63WMarch 11, 20065–1Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)29–28–6Recap
64WMarch 14, 20065–4 SOBoston Bruins (2005–06)30–28–6Recap
65LMarch 16, 20061–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)30–29–6Recap
66LMarch 18, 20062–5@ New York Rangers (2005–06)30–30–6Recap
67WMarch 19, 20061–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)31–30–6Recap
68WMarch 21, 20063–2Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)32–30–6Recap
69LMarch 23, 20061–5@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)32–31–6Recap
70LMarch 25, 20062–6@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)32–32–6Recap
71WMarch 26, 20064–3@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)33–32–6Recap
72WMarch 28, 20063–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)34–32–6Recap :
April: 7–1–2 (home: 5–0–1; road: 2–1–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
73WApril 1, 20067–0Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)35–32–6Recap
74LApril 3, 20062–3 SOBuffalo Sabres (2005–06)35–32–7Recap
75WApril 5, 20063–2New York Islanders (2005–06)36–32–7Recap
76LApril 6, 20062–3 SO@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)36–32–8Recap
77WApril 8, 20065–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)37–32–8Recap
78WApril 11, 20066–5 OTFlorida Panthers (2005–06)38–32–8Recap
79WApril 13, 20064–3 OT@ New York Islanders (2005–06)39–32–8Recap
80WApril 15, 20065–1Ottawa Senators (2005–06)40–32–8Recap
81LApril 16, 20060–6@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)40–33–8Recap
82WApril 18, 20065–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)41–33–8Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :
* † Hockey Hall of Fame Game

## 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 | 70 | 31 | 47 | 78 | 7 | 58 |
| 24 | Bryan McCabe | D | 73 | 19 | 49 | 68 | −1 | 116 |
| 15 | Tomas Kaberle | D | 82 | 9 | 58 | 67 | −1 | 46 |
| 16 | Darcy Tucker | C | 74 | 28 | 33 | 61 | −12 | 100 |
| 41 | Jason Allison | C | 66 | 17 | 43 | 60 | −18 | 76 |
| 10 | Alexander Steen | C | 75 | 18 | 27 | 45 | −9 | 42 |
| 42 | Kyle Wellwood | C | 81 | 11 | 34 | 45 | 0 | 14 |
| 23 | Alexei Ponikarovsky | LW | 81 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 15 | 68 |
| 92 | Jeff O'Neill | RW | 74 | 19 | 19 | 38 | −19 | 64 |
| 80 | Nik Antropov | RW | 57 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 13 | 56 |
| 18 | Chad Kilger | C | 79 | 17 | 11 | 28 | −6 | 63 |
| 14 | Matt Stajan | C | 80 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 5 | 50 |
| 88 | Eric Lindros | C | 33 | 11 | 11 | 22 | −3 | 43 |
| 28 | Tie Domi | RW | 77 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −10 | 109 |
| 22 | Ken Klee‡ | D | 56 | 3 | 12 | 15 | −1 | 66 |
| 25 | Alexander Khavanov | D | 64 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −11 | 60 |
| 39 | Clarke Wilm | C | 60 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −15 | 43 |
| 8 | Aki Berg | D | 75 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −5 | 56 |
| 45 | Carlo Colaiacovo | D | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| 37 | Ian White | D | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| 21 | Mariusz Czerkawski‡ | RW | 19 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −2 | 6 |
| 53 | John Pohl | RW | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Wade Belak | D | 55 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −13 | 109 |
| 22 | Luke Richardson† | D | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 41 |
| 48 | Jeremy Williams | C | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Ed Belfour | G | 49 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 12 |
| 43 | Jay Harrison | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 44 | Staffan Kronwall | D | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 14 |
| 56 | Andy Wozniewski | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −8 | 13 |
| 30 | Jean-Sebastien Aubin | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 36 | Brendan Bell | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Ben Ondrus | LW | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −10 | 18 |
| 26 | Nathan Perrott‡ | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 19 | Aleksander Suglobov† | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 32 | Mikael Tellqvist | G | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### 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 | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 20 | Ed Belfour | 49 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 1476 | 159 | 3.29 | .892 | 0 | 2897 |
| 32 | Mikael Tellqvist | 25 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 697 | 73 | 3.13 | .895 | 2 | 1399 |
| 30 | Jean-Sebastien Aubin | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 330 | 25 | 2.22 | .924 | 1 | 677 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Bryan McCabe (October 17) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Bryan McCabe (November 21) |
| Team | Molson Cup | Mats Sundin |

### Milestones

Ed Belfour passed Terry Sawchuk for second on the all-time wins list on December 19, 2005.
| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Alexander Steen | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Andy Wozniewski | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Staffan Kronwall | October 29, 2005 |
| First game | Jay Harrison | January 28, 2006 |
| First game | Ben Ondrus | March 7, 2006 |
| First game | Brendan Bell | March 21, 2006 |
| First game | Ian White | March 26, 2006 |
| First game | Jeremy Williams | April 18, 2006 |
| 1,000th game played | Tie Domi | March 3, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Carolina HurricanesConditional 4th-round pick in 2006 | To Toronto Maple LeafsJeff O'Neill |
| August 24, 2005 (2005-08-24) | To St. Louis BluesFuture considerations | To Toronto Maple LeafsJohn Pohl |
| November 6, 2005 (2005-11-06) | To Dallas StarsNathan Perrott | To Toronto Maple LeafsConditional 6th-round pick in 2006 |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | To Columbus Blue JacketsConditional draft pick | To Toronto Maple LeafsLuke Richardson |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | To New Jersey DevilsKen Klee | To Toronto Maple LeafsAleksander Suglobov |
| June 15, 2006 (2006-06-15) | To Boston BruinsRights to Petr Tenkrat | To Toronto Maple Leafs7th-round pick in 2006 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Jason Allison | Los Angeles Kings | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Alexander Khavanov | St. Louis Blues | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Eric Lindros | New York Rangers | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Mike Hoffman | Cleveland Barons (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Jean-Sebastien Aubin | St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 9, 2005 (2005-09-09) | Mariusz Czerkawski | Djurgardens IF (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 10, 2005 (2005-09-10) | Brad Brown | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | Alex Foster | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) | | Free agency |
| April 18, 2006 (2006-04-18) | Chris Harrington | University of Minnesota (WCHA) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| August 1, 2005 (2005-08-01) | Joe Nieuwendyk | Florida Panthers | Free agency (III) |
| August 1, 2005 (2005-08-01) | Owen Nolan | | Release |
| August 1, 2005 (2005-08-01) | Gary Roberts | Florida Panthers | Free agency (III) |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | Brian Leetch | Boston Bruins | Free agency (III) |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Jason MacDonald | Boston Bruins | Free agency |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Alexander Mogilny | New Jersey Devils | Free agency (III) |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Harold Druken | EHC Basel (NLA) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 21, 2005 (2005-09-21) | Regan Kelly | Sheffield Steelers (EIHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 22, 2005 (2005-09-22) | Nathan Barrett | Norfolk Admirals (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| January 25, 2006 (2006-01-25) | Karel Pilar | HC Sparta Praha (ELH) | Free agency (II) |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | Mariusz Czerkawski | Boston Bruins | Waivers |
| April 26, 2006 (2006-04-26) | Aki Berg | HC TPS (Liiga) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | John Mitchell | multi-year | Entry-level |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | Jeff O'Neill | multi-year | Re-signing |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Tie Domi | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Staffan Kronwall | multi-year | Entry-level |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Alexander Steen | multi-year | Entry-level |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Wade Belak | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Aki Berg | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Nik Antropov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Roman Kukumberg | 1-year | Entry-level |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Clarke Wilm | 1-year | Re-signing |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Alexei Ponikarovsky | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 21, 2005 (2005-09-21) | Nathan Perrott | | Re-signing |
| December 19, 2005 (2005-12-19) | Justin Pogge | 3-year | Entry-level |
| February 11, 2006 (2006-02-11) | Tomas Kaberle | 5-year | Extension |
| April 12, 2006 (2006-04-12) | Jean-Sebastien Aubin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| April 15, 2006 (2006-04-15) | Robbie Earl | 3-year | Entry-level |
| April 17, 2006 (2006-04-17) | Chad Kilger | 3-year | Re-signing |
| June 8, 2006 (2006-06-08) | Mikael Tellqvist | 1-year | Option exercised |

## Draft picks

The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd NHL entry draft. As a lockout cancelled the 2004–05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22, 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years. According to the draft order, the selection worked its way up to 30 as usual; then instead of repeating the order as in past years, the draft "snaked" back down to the team with the first pick. Therefore, the team with the first pick overall would not pick again until the 60th pick. The team with the 30th pick would also get the 31st pick. The draft was only seven rounds in length, compared to nine rounds in years past. The labor dispute caused the shortened draft.
* Toronto's picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 21 | Tuukka Rask | Goaltender | Finland | Ilves Jr. (Finland) |
| 3 | 82 | Phil Oreskovic | Defence | Canada | Brampton Battalion (OHL) |
| 5 | 153 | Alex Berry | Right wing | United States | Bruins Jr. (EJHL) |
| 6 | 173 | Johan Dahlberg | Left wing | Sweden | Modo Hockey Jr. (Sweden) |
| 7 | 216 | Anton Stralman | Defence | Sweden | Skovde (Sweden 2) |
| 7 | 228 | Chad Rau | Centre | United States | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) |

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

* The Maple Leafs farm club was the Toronto Marlies. In their first season, the Marlies had 41 wins, 29 losses, and posted 92 points for the season. The club finished in fourth place in the North Division. In the playoffs, the Marlies lost in the first round 4 games to 1 to Grand Rapids. Marc Moro was the team captain and Paul Maurice was the head coach.
The Maple Leafs were also affiliated with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL.