# 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs season saw the Maple Leafs finish in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 34 wins, 31 losses, and 15 ties for 83 points. They defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins two games to one in the preliminary round before losing the Quarter-Finals in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 6 | Don Ashby (C) | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 2 | 24 | Doug Jarvis (C) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 42 | Bruce Boudreau (C) | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 78 | Ted Long (D) | Canada | Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 96 | Kevin Campbell (D) | Canada | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 7 | 114 | Mario Rouillard (RW) | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 132 | Ron Wilson (D) | United States | Providence College (ECAC) |
| 9 | 149 | Paul Evans (LW) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 10 | 165 | Jean Latendresse (D) | Canada | Shawinigan Dynamos (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 166 | Paul Crowley (RW) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 11 | 179 | Dan D'Alvise (C) | Canada | Royal York Rangers (OPJHL) |
| 11 | 180 | Jack Laine (RW) | Canada | Bowling Green University (CCHA) |
| 12 | 188 | Ken Holland (G) | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 12 | 189 | Bob Barnes (D) | Canada | Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL) |
| 12 | 191 | Gary Burns (LW) | United States | University of New Hampshire (ECAC) |
| 12 | 193 | Jim Montgomery (C) | Canada | Hull Festivals (QMJHL) |
| 13 | 199 | Rick Martin (RW) | Canada | London Knights (OMJHL) |

## Regular season
### Sittler's Ten Point Night

* February 7, 1976 – In his first season as captain Darryl Sittler set the NHL record for most points scored in one game when he recorded ten points (six goals, four assists) against the Boston Bruins. At the 9:27 mark of the third period, he scored a goal and earned the ninth point of the game, breaking the NHL record for most points in a game. He would go on to earn another point to set a new record with 10 points in a game. To this day, this record still stands. In addiction, Sittler finished the season with 41 goals and 59 assists, being the first Leaf ever to reach the 100-point mark.

### Season standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 48 | 15 | 17 | 313 | 237 | 113 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | 339 | 240 | 105 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 294 | 276 | 83 |
| California Golden Seals | 80 | 27 | 42 | 11 | 250 | 278 | 65 |
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
1975–76 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Boston
—3–2–15–14–1–112–4–2
Buffalo
2–3–1—5–0–14–211–5–2
California
1–50–5–1—1–3–22–13–3
Toronto
1–4–12–43–1–2—6–9–3
Vs. Norris Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
3–0–24–10–3–23–0–24–0–114–4–7
Buffalo
4–13–22–34–14–0–117–7–1
California
3–1–12–30–52–2–13–1–110–12–3
Toronto
2–1–23–1–11–3–11–44–0–111–9–5
Vs. Patrick Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
3–22–0–23–12–1–110–4–3
Buffalo
2–1–12–22–0–30–3–16–6–5
California
1–31–33–10–4–15–11–1
Toronto
2–21–3–14–00–3–17–8–2
Vs. Smythe Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
3–0–12–1–13–0–12–1–12–1–112–3–5
Buffalo
2–0–23–0–14–02–1–11–2–112–3–5
California
2–1–11–2–13–12–1–12–1–110–6–4
Toronto
1–2–13–0–13–12–0–21–2–110–5–5 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1975 | 2–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 12, 1975 | 3–8 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 15, 1975 | 4–8 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1975 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | L | October 19, 1975 | 0–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | W | October 22, 1975 | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 3–3–0 |
| 7 | W | October 24, 1975 | 6–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 4–3–0 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1975 | 2–2 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | W | October 29, 1975 | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 5–3–1 |
| 10 | L | October 30, 1975 | 2–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1975 | 3–0 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | W | November 5, 1975 | 7–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 7–4–1 |
| 13 | T | November 7, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 7–4–2 |
| 14 | T | November 8, 1975 | 3–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 7–4–3 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 7–5–3 |
| 16 | W | November 14, 1975 | 4–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 8–5–3 |
| 17 | T | November 15, 1975 | 1–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 8–5–4 |
| 18 | W | November 18, 1975 | 4–2 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 9–5–4 |
| 19 | L | November 22, 1975 | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 9–6–4 |
| 20 | T | November 23, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 9–6–5 |
| 21 | T | November 26, 1975 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 9–6–6 |
| 22 | L | November 28, 1975 | 3–6 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 9–7–6 |
| 23 | T | November 29, 1975 | 1–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 9–7–7 |
| 24 | L | December 3, 1975 | 1–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 9–8–7 |
| 25 | L | December 6, 1975 | 2–4 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 9–9–7 |
| 26 | L | December 7, 1975 | 3–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 9–10–7 |
| 27 | T | December 10, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 9–10–8 |
| 28 | L | December 13, 1975 | 3–5 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 9–11–8 |
| 29 | W | December 14, 1975 | 6–1 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 10–11–8 |
| 30 | W | December 17, 1975 | 6–2 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 11–11–8 |
| 31 | L | December 18, 1975 | 2–4 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 11–12–8 |
| 32 | W | December 20, 1975 | 5–1 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 12–12–8 |
| 33 | W | December 22, 1975 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 13–12–8 |
| 34 | L | December 27, 1975 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 13–13–8 |
| 35 | W | December 29, 1975 | 6–2 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 14–13–8 |
| 36 | W | January 1, 1976 | 5–1 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 15–13–8 |
| 37 | L | January 3, 1976 | 0–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 15–14–8 |
| 38 | W | January 4, 1976 | 8–6 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 16–14–8 |
| 39 | L | January 7, 1976 | 3–7 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 16–15–8 |
| 40 | W | January 8, 1976 | 5–3 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 17–15–8 |
| 41 | W | January 10, 1976 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 18–15–8 |
| 42 | L | January 11, 1976 | 0–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 18–16–8 |
| 43 | W | January 14, 1976 | 6–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 19–16–8 |
| 44 | W | January 15, 1976 | 6–4 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 20–16–8 |
| 45 | T | January 17, 1976 | 4–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 20–16–9 |
| 46 | L | January 22, 1976 | 3–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 20–17–9 |
| 47 | T | January 24, 1976 | 5–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 20–17–10 |
| 48 | L | January 25, 1976 | 3–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 20–18–10 |
| 49 | L | January 28, 1976 | 2–3 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 20–19–10 |
| 50 | W | January 31, 1976 | 6–4 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 21–19–10 |
| 51 | L | February 1, 1976 | 1–7 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 21–20–10 |
| 52 | T | February 4, 1976 | 4–4 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 21–20–11 |
| 53 | W | February 7, 1976 | 11–4 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 22–20–11 |
| 54 | W | February 8, 1976 | 4–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 23–20–11 |
| 55 | L | February 11, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 23–21–11 |
| 56 | L | February 14, 1976 | 3–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 23–22–11 |
| 57 | W | February 16, 1976 | 5–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 24–22–11 |
| 58 | L | February 18, 1976 | 5–7 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 24–23–11 |
| 59 | L | February 19, 1976 | 5–7 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 24–24–11 |
| 60 | W | February 21, 1976 | 6–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 25–24–11 |
| 61 | W | February 23, 1976 | 7–1 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 26–24–11 |
| 62 | W | February 25, 1976 | 8–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 27–24–11 |
| 63 | L | February 26, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 27–25–11 |
| 64 | W | February 28, 1976 | 4–2 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 28–25–11 |
| 65 | W | March 1, 1976 | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 29–25–11 |
| 66 | W | March 3, 1976 | 4–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 30–25–11 |
| 67 | W | March 6, 1976 | 4–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 31–25–11 |
| 68 | T | March 7, 1976 | 7–7 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 31–25–12 |
| 69 | T | March 10, 1976 | 2–2 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 31–25–13 |
| 70 | L | March 11, 1976 | 2–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 31–26–13 |
| 71 | T | March 13, 1976 | 2–2 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 31–26–14 |
| 72 | L | March 17, 1976 | 5–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 31–27–14 |
| 73 | W | March 20, 1976 | 7–3 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 32–27–14 |
| 74 | L | March 21, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 32–28–14 |
| 75 | W | March 24, 1976 | 2–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 33–28–14 |
| 76 | L | March 27, 1976 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 33–29–14 |
| 77 | W | March 29, 1976 | 5–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 34–29–14 |
| 78 | T | March 31, 1976 | 4–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 34–29–15 |
| 79 | L | April 3, 1976 | 2–4 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 34–30–15 |
| 80 | L | April 4, 1976 | 2–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 34–31–15 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 79 | 41 | 59 | 100 | 90 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 75 | 37 | 56 | 93 | 70 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 75 | 43 | 37 | 80 | 26 | 28 | 13 | 1 | 7 |
| Borje Salming | D | 78 | 16 | 41 | 57 | 70 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 76 | 20 | 36 | 56 | 90 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Stan Weir | C | 64 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| George Ferguson | C | 79 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 76 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Tiger Williams | LW | 78 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 299 | -1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Inge Hammarstrom | LW | 76 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Jack Valiquette | C | 45 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 30 | -8 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pat Boutette | C/RW | 77 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 140 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 46 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 19 | -7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Neely | LW | 69 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 89 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Ashby | C | 50 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Seiling | D | 77 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 46 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blaine Stoughton | RW | 43 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 8 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Hubick | D | 72 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Claire Alexander | D | 33 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Dunn | D | 43 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 84 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 69 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 75 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Garland | C | 16 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Favell | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord McRae | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | G | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kurt Walker | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Wayne Thomas | 3684 | 64 | 28 | 24 | 12 | 196 | 3.19 | 2 |
| Gord McRae | 956 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 59 | 3.70 | 0 |
| Doug Favell | 160 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5.63 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 270 | 3.38 | 2 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Borje Salming | D | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Claire Alexander | D | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| George Ferguson | C | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Valiquette | C | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Boutette | C/RW | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Neely | LW | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Weir | C | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Scott Garland | C | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Seiling | D | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Dunn | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord McRae | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kurt Walker | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Warner | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tiger Williams | LW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Wayne Thomas | 587 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 3.48 | 1 |
| Gord McRae | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.62 | 0 |
| Team: | 600 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 3.50 | 1 |
    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
### Awards

* Borje Salming, defence, NHL 2nd All-Star Team
* Darryl Sittler, Molson Cup (most game star selections for Toronto Maple Leafs)
* Wayne Thomas, appeared in NHL All-Star Game

### Records

* Darryl Sittler tied the playoff record for most goals in one game, with five against Philadelphia.

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1975–76 season.

### Trades

| June 17, 1975 | To Montreal Canadiens1st round pick in 1976 – Peter Lee | To Toronto Maple LeafsWayne Thomas |
| June 20, 1975 | To California Golden SealsGary Sabourin | To Toronto Maple LeafsStan Weir |
| June 26, 1975 | To Montreal CanadiensDoug Jarvis | To Toronto Maple LeafsGreg Hubick |
| September 1, 1975 | To Los Angeles KingsCash | To Toronto Maple LeafsTom Cassidy |
| June 1, 1976 | To Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)Cash | To Toronto Maple LeafsMike Pelyk Randy Carlyle |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| Bob Warner | Undrafted free agent |
| Kurt Walker | Undrafted free agent |