# 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 57th season of the Toronto NHL franchise, 47th as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs placed fourth to make the playoffs, but were swept in the first round by the Boston Bruins.

## Offseason

The Maple Leafs made several signings that would improve their team. At the entry draft, the Maple Leafs chose Lanny McDonald with the fourth-overall draft pick. He would play six and a half seasons with the Maple Leafs. Bernie Parent, who had left the team for the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972, made it known that he wanted to return to the NHL. The Maple Leafs still had his NHL rights, and they traded Parent to the Philadelphia Flyers for Doug Favell and a first-round draft pick, which the Maple Leafs used to choose Bob Neely. Neely would play four seasons for the Maple Leafs before being traded to the Colorado Rockies.
In a first for Toronto, the club signed players from Europe. Toronto signed Swedish defenceman Borje Salming and forward Inge Hammarstrom. Salming had made the all-star team at the 1973 world championships. Hammarstrom was one of the top scorers in Sweden. Both had played for Brynäs of the Swedish League, and the Leafs had to pay the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation for their release. Salming would play with the Leafs until 1989, when he joined the Detroit Red Wings. Hammarstrom would play five seasons in Toronto before moving to the St. Louis Blues.

## Regular season
### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 52 | 17 | 9 | 349 | 221 | +128 | 113 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 45 | 24 | 9 | 293 | 240 | +53 | 99 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 40 | 24 | 14 | 300 | 251 | +49 | 94 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 35 | 27 | 16 | 274 | 230 | +44 | 86 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 32 | 34 | 12 | 242 | 250 | −8 | 76 |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 29 | 39 | 10 | 255 | 319 | −64 | 68 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 24 | 43 | 11 | 224 | 296 | −72 | 59 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 19 | 41 | 18 | 182 | 247 | −65 | 56 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 10, 1973 | 7–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 11, 1973 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | W | October 13, 1973 | 6–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | W | October 17, 1973 | 5–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | W | October 20, 1973 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | L | October 21, 1973 | 3–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | T | October 23, 1973 | 2–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | L | October 27, 1973 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | T | October 28, 1973 | 1–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | W | October 30, 1973 | 7–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 5–3–2 |
| 11 | T | November 1, 1973 | 2–2 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 5–3–3 |
| 12 | W | November 3, 1973 | 6–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 6–3–3 |
| 13 | L | November 7, 1973 | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 6–4–3 |
| 14 | T | November 10, 1973 | 3–3 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 6–4–4 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1973 | 4–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 6–5–4 |
| 16 | W | November 14, 1973 | 4–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 7–5–4 |
| 17 | T | November 16, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 7–5–5 |
| 18 | W | November 17, 1973 | 4–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 8–5–5 |
| 19 | W | November 20, 1973 | 4–2 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 9–5–5 |
| 20 | L | November 22, 1973 | 2–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 9–6–5 |
| 21 | L | November 24, 1973 | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 9–7–5 |
| 22 | W | November 28, 1973 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 10–7–5 |
| 23 | W | November 29, 1973 | 5–1 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 11–7–5 |
| 24 | W | December 1, 1973 | 3–2 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 12–7–5 |
| 25 | L | December 2, 1973 | 4–6 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 12–8–5 |
| 26 | W | December 6, 1973 | 4–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 13–8–5 |
| 27 | L | December 8, 1973 | 1–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 13–9–5 |
| 28 | L | December 9, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 13–10–5 |
| 29 | L | December 11, 1973 | 3–7 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 13–11–5 |
| 30 | W | December 13, 1973 | 6–1 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 14–11–5 |
| 31 | T | December 15, 1973 | 2–2 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 14–11–6 |
| 32 | W | December 19, 1973 | 5–3 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 15–11–6 |
| 33 | L | December 22, 1973 | 4–6 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 15–12–6 |
| 34 | L | December 23, 1973 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 15–13–6 |
| 35 | W | December 26, 1973 | 9–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 16–13–6 |
| 36 | T | December 29, 1973 | 3–3 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 16–13–7 |
| 37 | W | December 30, 1973 | 4–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 17–13–7 |
| 38 | W | January 2, 1974 | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 18–13–7 |
| 39 | L | January 5, 1974 | 3–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 18–14–7 |
| 40 | W | January 7, 1974 | 6–2 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 19–14–7 |
| 41 | W | January 9, 1974 | 6–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 20–14–7 |
| 42 | W | January 12, 1974 | 4–2 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 21–14–7 |
| 43 | L | January 15, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 21–15–7 |
| 44 | T | January 16, 1974 | 5–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 21–15–8 |
| 45 | L | January 19, 1974 | 3–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 21–16–8 |
| 46 | L | January 23, 1974 | 3–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 21–17–8 |
| 47 | T | January 26, 1974 | 3–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 21–17–9 |
| 48 | W | January 27, 1974 | 5–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 22–17–9 |
| 49 | W | January 31, 1974 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 23–17–9 |
| 50 | W | February 2, 1974 | 6–2 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 24–17–9 |
| 51 | T | February 3, 1974 | 3–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 24–17–10 |
| 52 | T | February 6, 1974 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 24–17–11 |
| 53 | W | February 9, 1974 | 4–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 25–17–11 |
| 54 | L | February 13, 1974 | 1–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 25–18–11 |
| 55 | W | February 16, 1974 | 7–2 | Atlanta Flames (1973–74) | 26–18–11 |
| 56 | L | February 17, 1974 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 26–19–11 |
| 57 | W | February 20, 1974 | 4–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 27–19–11 |
| 58 | L | February 23, 1974 | 3–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 27–20–11 |
| 59 | T | February 24, 1974 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 27–20–12 |
| 60 | L | February 26, 1974 | 3–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 27–21–12 |
| 61 | W | February 28, 1974 | 6–4 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 28–21–12 |
| 62 | W | March 2, 1974 | 5–2 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 29–21–12 |
| 63 | W | March 3, 1974 | 6–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 30–21–12 |
| 64 | T | March 7, 1974 | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 30–21–13 |
| 65 | L | March 9, 1974 | 1–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 30–22–13 |
| 66 | L | March 12, 1974 | 1–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 30–23–13 |
| 67 | W | March 14, 1974 | 2–1 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 31–23–13 |
| 68 | L | March 16, 1974 | 2–5 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 31–24–13 |
| 69 | T | March 17, 1974 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 31–24–14 |
| 70 | T | March 19, 1974 | 1–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 31–24–15 |
| 71 | W | March 22, 1974 | 3–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 32–24–15 |
| 72 | L | March 24, 1974 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 32–25–15 |
| 73 | L | March 27, 1974 | 3–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 32–26–15 |
| 74 | W | March 30, 1974 | 7–3 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 33–26–15 |
| 75 | T | March 31, 1974 | 3–3 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 33–26–16 |
| 76 | W | April 3, 1974 | 5–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 34–26–16 |
| 77 | W | April 6, 1974 | 3–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 35–26–16 |
| 78 | L | April 7, 1974 | 4–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 35–27–16 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 78 | 38 | 46 | 84 | 55 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Norm Ullman | C | 78 | 22 | 47 | 69 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Paul Henderson | RW | 69 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 40 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Keon | C | 74 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ron Ellis | RW | 70 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Inge Hammarstrom | LW | 66 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 77 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 36 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Kehoe | RW | 69 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 8 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Borje Salming | D | 76 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 48 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 78 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 74 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Pelyk | D | 71 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 94 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 70 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 43 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Garry Monahan | LW | 78 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tim Ecclestone | LW | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 32 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 65 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 100 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Denis Dupere | LW | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Shack | LW | 59 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 74 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 56 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Neely | LW | 54 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 98 | −14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Jarry | LW | 12 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Ferguson | C | 16 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Brossart | D | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Favell | G | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dunc Wilson | G | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Doug Favell | 1752 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 79 | 2.71 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | 1516 | 26 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 78 | 3.09 | 1 |
| Dunc Wilson | 1412 | 24 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 68 | 2.89 | 1 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 35 | 27 | 16 | 225 | 2.88 | 2 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bob Neely | LW | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Ellis | RW | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Keon | C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Ullman | C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Henderson | RW | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inge Hammarstrom | LW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Shack | LW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Ecclestone | LW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Ferguson | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Monahan | LW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Borje Salming | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Brossart | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Dupere | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Favell | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Pelyk | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Doug Favell | 181 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3.31 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 241 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 3.98 | 0 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1973–74 season.

### Trades

| May 22, 1973 | To Boston BruinsFuture Considerations | To Toronto Maple LeafsEddie Johnston |
| May 23, 1973 | To Philadelphia FlyersCash | To Toronto Maple LeafsWillie Brossart |
| May 29, 1973 | To Vancouver CanucksMurray Heatley Larry McIntyre | To Toronto Maple LeafsDunc Wilson |
| July 3, 1973 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsCash | To Toronto Maple LeafsEddie Shack |
| October 17, 1973 | To Detroit Red WingsTerry Clancy | To Toronto Maple LeafsCash |
| November 29, 1973 | To Detroit Red WingsPierre Jarry | To Toronto Maple LeafsTim Ecclestone |
| May 27, 1974 | To Philadelphia FlyersDave Fortier Randy Osburn | To Toronto Maple LeafsBill Flett |
| May 27, 1974 | To St. Louis BluesEddie Johnston | To Toronto Maple LeafsGary Sabourin |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Bill Butters | Undrafted Free Agent |
| Scott Garland | Tulsa Oilers (CHL) |

## Draft picks

Toronto's draft picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Lanny McDonald | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 1 | 10 | Bob Neely | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 1 | 15 | Ian Turnbull | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 4 | 52 | Frank Rochon | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 68 | Gord Titcomb | Canada | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA) |
| 6 | 84 | Doug Marit | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 7 | 100 | Dan Follet | Canada | Downsview Bombers (OPJHL) |
| 8 | 116 | Les Burgess | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 9 | 132 | Dave Pay | Canada | University of Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 10 | 144 | Lee Palmer | Canada | Clarkson University (NCAA) |
| 10 | 147 | Bob Peace | Canada | Cornell University (NCAA) |
| 11 | 159 | Norm McLeod | Canada | Ottawa M&W Rangers (CJHL) |