# 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's 60th season, 50th as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs finished in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 33 wins, 32 losses and 15 ties for 81 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the preliminary round 2–1 before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the Quarter-finals.

## Regular season

On February 2, 1977, Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Ian Turnbull would be the first player in NHL history to score five goals on five shots.

### Season standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | 312 | 240 | 106 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 48 | 24 | 8 | 301 | 220 | 104 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | 301 | 285 | 81 |
| Cleveland Barons | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | 240 | 292 | 63 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Boston
—3–35–13–2–111–6–1
Buffalo
3–3—5–15–0–113–4–1
Cleveland
1–51–5—2–44–14–0
Toronto
2–3–10–5–14–2—6–10–1
Vs. Norris Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
4–12–2–13–23–1–14–0–116–6–3
Buffalo
4–13–22–2–10–4–14–113–10–2
Cleveland
2–31–2–20–50–3–25–08–13–4
Toronto
3–1–12–1–21–2–21–2–22–39–9–7
Vs. Patrick Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
2–21–2–14–0–11–38–7–2
Buffalo
2–1–11–3–14–02–29–6–2
Cleveland
2–1–10–3–10–3–11–3–13–10–4
Toronto
4–12–1–11–2–11–2–18–6–3
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
4–03–11–2–12–1–14–014–4–2
Buffalo
3–13–0–12–1–12–23–0–113–4–3
Cleveland
3–12–1–11–1–22–1–12–1–110–5–5
Toronto
1–2–12–1–13–12–22–1–110–7–3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 5, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 9, 1976 | 7–5 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | T | October 13, 1976 | 4–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 15, 1976 | 3–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | T | October 16, 1976 | 5–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 1–2–2 |
| 6 | T | October 20, 1976 | 4–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 1–2–3 |
| 7 | L | October 21, 1976 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 1–3–3 |
| 8 | L | October 23, 1976 | 2–5 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 1–4–3 |
| 9 | L | October 27, 1976 | 3–5 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 1–5–3 |
| 10 | W | October 28, 1976 | 3–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 2–5–3 |
| 11 | W | October 30, 1976 | 5–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 3–5–3 |
| 12 | W | November 1, 1976 | 6–3 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 4–5–3 |
| 13 | L | November 3, 1976 | 2–6 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 4–6–3 |
| 14 | W | November 5, 1976 | 4–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 5–6–3 |
| 15 | L | November 6, 1976 | 2–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 5–7–3 |
| 16 | T | November 10, 1976 | 2–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 5–7–4 |
| 17 | W | November 13, 1976 | 3–0 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 6–7–4 |
| 18 | W | November 17, 1976 | 1–0 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 7–7–4 |
| 19 | W | November 20, 1976 | 8–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 8–7–4 |
| 20 | L | November 21, 1976 | 5–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 8–8–4 |
| 21 | L | November 24, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 8–9–4 |
| 22 | W | November 27, 1976 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 9–9–4 |
| 23 | W | November 28, 1976 | 5–1 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 10–9–4 |
| 24 | W | November 30, 1976 | 4–2 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 11–9–4 |
| 25 | W | December 1, 1976 | 6–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 12–9–4 |
| 26 | T | December 4, 1976 | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 12–9–5 |
| 27 | T | December 5, 1976 | 5–5 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 12–9–6 |
| 28 | L | December 8, 1976 | 3–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 12–10–6 |
| 29 | W | December 11, 1976 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 13–10–6 |
| 30 | L | December 12, 1976 | 4–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 13–11–6 |
| 31 | W | December 15, 1976 | 4–1 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 14–11–6 |
| 32 | L | December 17, 1976 | 2–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 14–12–6 |
| 33 | W | December 18, 1976 | 4–2 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 15–12–6 |
| 34 | W | December 20, 1976 | 6–2 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 16–12–6 |
| 35 | L | December 22, 1976 | 2–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 16–13–6 |
| 36 | L | December 23, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 16–14–6 |
| 37 | L | December 26, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 16–15–6 |
| 38 | W | December 29, 1976 | 6–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 17–15–6 |
| 39 | W | January 1, 1977 | 3–1 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 18–15–6 |
| 40 | L | January 2, 1977 | 4–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 18–16–6 |
| 41 | W | January 5, 1977 | 6–4 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 19–16–6 |
| 42 | L | January 8, 1977 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 19–17–6 |
| 43 | W | January 11, 1977 | 2–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 20–17–6 |
| 44 | W | January 12, 1977 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 21–17–6 |
| 45 | L | January 15, 1977 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 21–18–6 |
| 46 | L | January 18, 1977 | 3–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 21–19–6 |
| 47 | W | January 21, 1977 | 3–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 22–19–6 |
| 48 | W | January 23, 1977 | 5–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 23–19–6 |
| 49 | W | January 27, 1977 | 2–1 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 24–19–6 |
| 50 | T | January 29, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 24–19–7 |
| 51 | L | January 31, 1977 | 3–7 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 24–20–7 |
| 52 | W | February 2, 1977 | 9–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 25–20–7 |
| 53 | L | February 5, 1977 | 5–7 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 25–21–7 |
| 54 | W | February 9, 1977 | 5–1 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 26–21–7 |
| 55 | W | February 12, 1977 | 10–0 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 27–21–7 |
| 56 | L | February 13, 1977 | 3–8 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 27–22–7 |
| 57 | L | February 14, 1977 | 2–7 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 27–23–7 |
| 58 | W | February 16, 1977 | 5–3 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 28–23–7 |
| 59 | T | February 17, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 28–23–8 |
| 60 | T | February 19, 1977 | 6–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 28–23–9 |
| 61 | W | February 20, 1977 | 10–8 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 29–23–9 |
| 62 | L | February 23, 1977 | 4–5 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 29–24–9 |
| 63 | L | February 25, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 29–25–9 |
| 64 | L | February 26, 1977 | 5–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 29–26–9 |
| 65 | L | March 2, 1977 | 1–4 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 29–27–9 |
| 66 | T | March 5, 1977 | 4–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 29–27–10 |
| 67 | W | March 7, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 30–27–10 |
| 68 | T | March 9, 1977 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 30–27–11 |
| 69 | W | March 12, 1977 | 6–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 31–27–11 |
| 70 | L | March 13, 1977 | 1–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 31–28–11 |
| 71 | W | March 15, 1977 | 4–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 32–28–11 |
| 72 | T | March 16, 1977 | 4–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 32–28–12 |
| 73 | W | March 19, 1977 | 5–4 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 33–28–12 |
| 74 | L | March 21, 1977 | 2–7 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 33–29–12 |
| 75 | T | March 23, 1977 | 1–1 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 33–29–13 |
| 76 | L | March 26, 1977 | 5–7 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 33–30–13 |
| 77 | L | March 27, 1977 | 4–7 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 33–31–13 |
| 78 | T | March 30, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 33–31–14 |
| 79 | T | April 2, 1977 | 1–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 33–31–15 |
| 80 | L | April 3, 1977 | 4–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 33–32–15 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 80 | 46 | 44 | 90 | 77 | 12 | 16 | 4 | 5 |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 73 | 38 | 52 | 90 | 89 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 5 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 80 | 22 | 57 | 79 | 84 | 47 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Borje Salming | D | 76 | 12 | 66 | 78 | 46 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Valiquette | C | 66 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 76 | 14 | 31 | 45 | 36 | −26 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Tiger Williams | LW | 77 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 338 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Ashby | C | 76 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 24 | −14 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Inge Hammarstrom | LW | 78 | 24 | 17 | 41 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 41 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 8 | −10 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Pat Boutette | C/RW | 80 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 107 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Neely | LW | 70 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 16 | −17 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Stan Weir | C | 65 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Scott Garland | C | 69 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 83 | −18 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| George Ferguson | C | 50 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Claire Alexander | D | 48 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 12 | −4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 69 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 73 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Boudreau | C | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kurt Walker | D | 26 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Carlyle | D | 45 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 51 | −19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Evans | C/LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Warner | D | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Palmateer | G | 50 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Pelyk | D | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tracy Pratt | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | G | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blair MacKasey | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | | | |
| Gord McRae | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Palmateer | 2877 | 50 | 23 | 18 | 8 | 154 | 3.21 | 4 |
| Wayne Thomas | 1803 | 33 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 116 | 3.86 | 1 |
| Gord McRae | 120 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4.50 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | 279 | 3.49 | 5 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 9 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 9 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Borje Salming | D | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tiger Williams | LW | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Neely | LW | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Boutette | C/RW | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Weir | C | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| George Ferguson | C | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Pelyk | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Ashby | C | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Carlyle | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Boudreau | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Evans | C/LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inge Hammarstrom | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Palmateer | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tracy Pratt | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Warner | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Palmateer | 360 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 2.67 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | 202 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3.56 | 0 |
| Team: | 562 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 2.99 | 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;

## Awards and records

* Lanny McDonald, Right Wing, NHL Second All-Star Team
* Borje Salming, Defence, NHL First All-Star Team

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1976–77 season.

### Trades

| September 9, 1976 | To St. Louis BluesFA Signing of Rod Seiling | To Toronto Maple Leafs2nd round pick in 1978 – Joel Quenneville Cash |
| September 15, 1976 | To Colorado RockiesDoug Favell | To Toronto Maple LeafsCash |
| September 27, 1976 | To Washington CapitalsCash | To Toronto Maple LeafsBlair MacKasey |
| September 28, 1976 | To Chicago Black HawksJim Harrison | To Toronto Maple Leafs2nd round pick in 1977 – Bob Gladney |
| March 8, 1977 | To Colorado Rockies3rd round pick in 1977 – Randy Pierce | To Toronto Maple LeafsTracy Pratt |

### Free agents

| Player | New Team |
| Rod Seiling | St. Louis Blues |
| Tom Cassidy | Boston Bruins |

## Draft picks

Toronto's draft picks at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 30 | Randy Carlyle | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 48 | Alain Belanger | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 52 | Gary McFayden | Canada | Hull Festivals (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 66 | Tim Williams | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 5 | 84 | Greg Hotham | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 102 | Dan Djakalovic | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 116 | Charlie Skjodt | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL) |