# 1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1978–79 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 62nd season of the Toronto NHL franchise, 52nd as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs placed third in the Adams Division to make the playoffs where the Leafs won their first round series against the Atlanta Flames, only to lose in the second series to the Montreal Canadiens. Until 2021, this would mark the last time the Maple Leafs and Canadiens would play each other in the postseason.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 2 | 21 | Joel Quenneville | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 48 | Mark Kirton | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 65 | Bob Parent | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 81 | Jordy Douglas | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 6 | 92 | Mel Hewitt | Canada | Calgary Wranglers (WCHL) |
| 6 | 98 | Norm Lefebvre | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 115 | John Scammell | Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL) |
| 8 | 132 | Kevin Reinhart | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) |
| 9 | 149 | Mike Waghorne | United States | University of New Hampshire (ECAC) |
| 10 | 166 | Laurie Cuvelier | Canada | St. Francis Xavier University (CIAU) |

## Regular season
### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | 316 | 270 | 100 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 280 | 263 | 88 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 267 | 252 | 81 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 257 | 289 | 68 |
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
 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
1978–79 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
TOR
Total
Boston
—4−3−15−0−35−1−214−4−6
Buffalo
3−4−1—5−2−14−3−112−9−3
Minnesota
0−5−32−5−1—2−4−24−14−6
Toronto
1−5−23−4−14−2−2—8−11−5
Vs. Norris Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
3−11−30−2−21−2−13−0−18−8−4
Buffalo
3−12−1−10−40−2−23−0−18−8−4
Minnesota
2−1−11−31−31−32−27−12−1
Toronto
2−24−00−3−13−11−1−210−7−3
Vs. Patrick Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
3−11−2−23−21−3−18−8−3
Buffalo
2−2−12−1−11−2−10−3−25−8−5
Minnesota
2−1−11−32−1−12−27−7−2
Toronto
1−41−32−2−12−2−16−11−2
Vs. Smythe Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
3−1−13−13−14−013−3−1
Buffalo
2−2−13−0−13−0−13−1−111−3−4
Minnesota
2−22−3−12−1−14−1−110−7−3
Toronto
1−2−12−1−14−03−1−110−4−3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1978 | 3–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 14, 1978 | 10–7 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | L | October 15, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1978 | 2–0 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | L | October 19, 1978 | 0–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | W | October 21, 1978 | 2–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | L | October 22, 1978 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 4–3–0 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1978 | 4–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | L | October 26, 1978 | 0–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | L | October 28, 1978 | 3–5 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1978 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 5–5–1 |
| 12 | W | November 3, 1978 | 3–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 6–5–1 |
| 13 | T | November 4, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 6–5–2 |
| 14 | W | November 7, 1978 | 5–0 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 7–5–2 |
| 15 | L | November 8, 1978 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 7–6–2 |
| 16 | L | November 11, 1978 | 2–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 7–7–2 |
| 17 | T | November 15, 1978 | 2–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 7–7–3 |
| 18 | W | November 16, 1978 | 6–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 8–7–3 |
| 19 | W | November 18, 1978 | 3–1 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 9–7–3 |
| 20 | W | November 21, 1978 | 4–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 10–7–3 |
| 21 | T | November 22, 1978 | 3–3 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 10–7–4 |
| 22 | L | November 25, 1978 | 3–6 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 10–8–4 |
| 23 | W | November 26, 1978 | 8–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 11–8–4 |
| 24 | W | November 29, 1978 | 5–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 12–8–4 |
| 25 | W | December 2, 1978 | 5–2 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 13–8–4 |
| 26 | L | December 3, 1978 | 2–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 13–9–4 |
| 27 | L | December 5, 1978 | 1–5 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 13–10–4 |
| 28 | L | December 6, 1978 | 4–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 13–11–4 |
| 29 | L | December 9, 1978 | 2–3 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 13–12–4 |
| 30 | L | December 10, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 13–13–4 |
| 31 | W | December 13, 1978 | 5–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 14–13–4 |
| 32 | W | December 16, 1978 | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 15–13–4 |
| 33 | L | December 17, 1978 | 6–7 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 15–14–4 |
| 34 | W | December 20, 1978 | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 16–14–4 |
| 35 | L | December 22, 1978 | 1–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 16–15–4 |
| 36 | W | December 23, 1978 | 6–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 17–15–4 |
| 37 | L | December 26, 1978 | 1–5 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 17–16–4 |
| 38 | T | December 27, 1978 | 1–1 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 17–16–5 |
| 39 | T | December 30, 1978 | 5–5 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 17–16–6 |
| 40 | L | January 3, 1979 | 1–4 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 17–17–6 |
| 41 | L | January 6, 1979 | 3–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 17–18–6 |
| 42 | L | January 8, 1979 | 1–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 17–19–6 |
| 43 | T | January 10, 1979 | 2–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 17–19–7 |
| 44 | W | January 13, 1979 | 4–2 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 18–19–7 |
| 45 | W | January 16, 1979 | 3–2 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 19–19–7 |
| 46 | T | January 19, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 19–19–8 |
| 47 | W | January 20, 1979 | 3–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 20–19–8 |
| 48 | T | January 24, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 20–19–9 |
| 49 | L | January 26, 1979 | 2–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 20–20–9 |
| 50 | T | January 28, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 20–20–10 |
| 51 | W | January 31, 1979 | 5–1 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 21–20–10 |
| 52 | L | February 3, 1979 | 3–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 21–21–10 |
| 53 | L | February 4, 1979 | 4–6 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 21–22–10 |
| 54 | W | February 12, 1979 | 5–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 22–22–10 |
| 55 | T | February 14, 1979 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 22–22–11 |
| 56 | W | February 17, 1979 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 23–22–11 |
| 57 | W | February 19, 1979 | 6–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 24–22–11 |
| 58 | L | February 21, 1979 | 1–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 24–23–11 |
| 59 | L | February 24, 1979 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 24–24–11 |
| 60 | L | February 26, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 24–25–11 |
| 61 | L | February 28, 1979 | 4–6 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 24–26–11 |
| 62 | L | March 1, 1979 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 24–27–11 |
| 63 | W | March 3, 1979 | 4–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 25–27–11 |
| 64 | W | March 4, 1979 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 26–27–11 |
| 65 | W | March 7, 1979 | 2–0 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 27–27–11 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1979 | 9–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 28–27–11 |
| 67 | W | March 11, 1979 | 4–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 29–27–11 |
| 68 | L | March 14, 1979 | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 29–28–11 |
| 69 | L | March 15, 1979 | 2–6 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 29–29–11 |
| 70 | W | March 17, 1979 | 6–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 30–29–11 |
| 71 | L | March 19, 1979 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 30–30–11 |
| 72 | L | March 21, 1979 | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 30–31–11 |
| 73 | T | March 24, 1979 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 30–31–12 |
| 74 | L | March 25, 1979 | 1–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 30–32–12 |
| 75 | W | March 28, 1979 | 6–2 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 31–32–12 |
| 76 | W | March 31, 1979 | 6–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 32–32–12 |
| 77 | W | April 1, 1979 | 6–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 33–32–12 |
| 78 | T | April 4, 1979 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 33–32–13 |
| 79 | W | April 7, 1979 | 6–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 34–32–13 |
| 80 | L | April 8, 1979 | 3–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 34–33–13 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 70 | 36 | 51 | 87 | 69 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 79 | 43 | 42 | 85 | 32 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| Borje Salming | D | 78 | 17 | 56 | 73 | 76 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 80 | 12 | 51 | 63 | 80 | -7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 79 | 25 | 36 | 61 | 18 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Dan Maloney | LW | 77 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 157 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Tiger Williams | LW | 77 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 298 | -7 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Pat Boutette | C/RW | 80 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 136 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ron Ellis | RW | 63 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| John Anderson | RW | 71 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Hutchison | D | 79 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 235 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Jones | RW | 69 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Wilson | D | 46 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | -10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Butler | RW | 76 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 52 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Dave Burrows | D | 65 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 28 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Monahan | LW | 62 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Joel Quenneville | D | 61 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 60 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Gardner | C | 11 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Rocky Saganiuk | RW/C | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bruce Boudreau | C | 26 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lorne Stamler | LW | 45 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Trevor Johansen | D | 40 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Palmateer | G | 58 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Ashby | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Hamel | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Harrison | G | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Palmateer | 3396 | 58 | 26 | 21 | 10 | 167 | 2.95 | 4 |
| Paul Harrison | 1403 | 25 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 82 | 3.51 | 1 |
| Pierre Hamel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 249 | 3.11 | 5 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Dan Maloney | LW | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Boutette | C/RW | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Turnbull | D | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Hutchison | D | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Ellis | RW | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Anderson | RW | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rocky Saganiuk | RW/C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Burrows | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Gardner | C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Quenneville | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Borje Salming | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Wilson | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Butler | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Harrison | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Jones | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Palmateer | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tiger Williams | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Mike Palmateer | 298 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 3.42 | 0 |
| Paul Harrison | 91 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4.62 | 0 |
| Team: | 389 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 3.70 | 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;

## Playoffs
### Preliminary round

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Atlanta Flames
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 10 | Toronto | 2 | Atlanta | 1 | |
| April 12 | Atlanta | 4 | Toronto | 7 | |
Toronto wins best-of-three series 2 games to 0.

### Quarter-finals

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 16 | Toronto | 2 | Montreal | 5 | |
| April 18 | Toronto | 1 | Montreal | 5 | |
| April 21 | Montreal | 4 | Toronto | 3 | (OT) |
| April 22 | Montreal | 5 | Toronto | 4 | (OT) |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0.

## Awards and records

* Borje Salming, Second Team NHL All-Star, Defence

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1978–79 season.

### Trades

| September 13, 1978 | To Vancouver CanucksCash | To Toronto Maple LeafsGarry Monahan |
| October 5, 1978 | To Minnesota North Stars3rd round pick in 1980 – Randy Velischek | To Toronto Maple LeafsWalt McKechnie |
| October 19, 1978 | To Colorado RockiesJack Valiquette | To Toronto Maple Leafs2nd round pick in 1981 – Gary Yaremchuk |
| March 13, 1979 | To Colorado RockiesDon Ashby Trevor Johansen | To Toronto Maple LeafsPaul Gardner |

### Waivers

| July 4, 1979 | To Edmonton OilersStan Weir |

### Expansion Draft

| June 13, 1979 | To Hartford WhalersJordy Douglas |
| June 13, 1979 | To Winnipeg JetsPierre Hamel |
| June 13, 1979 | To Hartford WhalersKevin Kemp |
| June 13, 1979 | To Hartford WhalersRick Ley |