# 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 56th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Leafs slipped to sixth place in the East and missed the playoffs.

## Offseason

Toronto lost Bernie Parent, Rick Ley, Brad Selwood, Guy Trottier and Larry Pleau, who jumped to the new World Hockey Association (WHA).

## Regular season
### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 52 | 10 | 16 | 329 | 184 | +145 | 120 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 51 | 22 | 5 | 330 | 235 | +95 | 107 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 47 | 23 | 8 | 297 | 208 | +89 | 102 |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 37 | 27 | 14 | 257 | 219 | +38 | 88 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 265 | 243 | +22 | 86 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 27 | 41 | 10 | 247 | 279 | −32 | 64 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 22 | 47 | 9 | 233 | 339 | −106 | 53 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 12 | 60 | 6 | 170 | 347 | −177 | 30 |

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

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 7, 1972 | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | T | October 11, 1972 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | W | October 14, 1972 | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 15, 1972 | 2–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | W | October 18, 1972 | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | L | October 21, 1972 | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | L | October 22, 1972 | 2–6 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | W | October 25, 1972 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 3–4–1 |
| 9 | L | October 28, 1972 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 3–5–1 |
| 10 | L | October 29, 1972 | 2–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 3–6–1 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1972 | 7–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 4–6–1 |
| 12 | W | November 4, 1972 | 4–2 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 5–6–1 |
| 13 | T | November 5, 1972 | 2–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 5–6–2 |
| 14 | L | November 8, 1972 | 2–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 5–7–2 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1972 | 0–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 5–8–2 |
| 16 | W | November 15, 1972 | 2–1 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 6–8–2 |
| 17 | T | November 18, 1972 | 4–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 6–8–3 |
| 18 | L | November 19, 1972 | 5–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 6–9–3 |
| 19 | L | November 22, 1972 | 1–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 6–10–3 |
| 20 | W | November 25, 1972 | 11–0 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 7–10–3 |
| 21 | L | November 26, 1972 | 4–7 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 7–11–3 |
| 22 | L | November 28, 1972 | 2–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 7–12–3 |
| 23 | L | November 29, 1972 | 4–7 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 7–13–3 |
| 24 | T | December 2, 1972 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 7–13–4 |
| 25 | W | December 3, 1972 | 3–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 8–13–4 |
| 26 | W | December 5, 1972 | 5–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 9–13–4 |
| 27 | T | December 9, 1972 | 5–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 9–13–5 |
| 28 | L | December 10, 1972 | 2–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 9–14–5 |
| 29 | L | December 13, 1972 | 3–4 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 9–15–5 |
| 30 | L | December 16, 1972 | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 9–16–5 |
| 31 | L | December 17, 1972 | 0–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 9–17–5 |
| 32 | L | December 20, 1972 | 3–5 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 9–18–5 |
| 33 | W | December 23, 1972 | 5–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 10–18–5 |
| 34 | L | December 24, 1972 | 1–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 10–19–5 |
| 35 | T | December 27, 1972 | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 10–19–6 |
| 36 | W | December 29, 1972 | 4–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 11–19–6 |
| 37 | W | December 30, 1972 | 5–4 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 12–19–6 |
| 38 | L | January 3, 1973 | 4–8 | Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 12–20–6 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1973 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 13–20–6 |
| 40 | W | January 7, 1973 | 4–0 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 14–20–6 |
| 41 | W | January 10, 1973 | 4–2 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 15–20–6 |
| 42 | L | January 12, 1973 | 0–1 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 15–21–6 |
| 43 | L | January 13, 1973 | 1–4 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 15–22–6 |
| 44 | L | January 16, 1973 | 4–6 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 15–23–6 |
| 45 | T | January 17, 1973 | 3–3 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 15–23–7 |
| 46 | W | January 20, 1973 | 6–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 16–23–7 |
| 47 | L | January 24, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 16–24–7 |
| 48 | L | January 27, 1973 | 2–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 16–25–7 |
| 49 | L | January 28, 1973 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 16–26–7 |
| 50 | W | January 31, 1973 | 5–3 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 17–26–7 |
| 51 | L | February 1, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 17–27–7 |
| 52 | L | February 3, 1973 | 1–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 17–28–7 |
| 53 | L | February 6, 1973 | 2–4 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 17–29–7 |
| 54 | W | February 7, 1973 | 5–3 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 18–29–7 |
| 55 | L | February 10, 1973 | 2–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 18–30–7 |
| 56 | L | February 14, 1973 | 2–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 18–31–7 |
| 57 | W | February 17, 1973 | 6–2 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 19–31–7 |
| 58 | L | February 18, 1973 | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 19–32–7 |
| 59 | T | February 21, 1973 | 2–2 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 19–32–8 |
| 60 | W | February 24, 1973 | 4–2 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 20–32–8 |
| 61 | W | February 28, 1973 | 7–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 21–32–8 |
| 62 | T | March 3, 1973 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 21–32–9 |
| 63 | L | March 4, 1973 | 0–10 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 21–33–9 |
| 64 | L | March 7, 1973 | 1–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) | 21–34–9 |
| 65 | W | March 8, 1973 | 4–1 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 22–34–9 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1973 | 4–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 23–34–9 |
| 67 | L | March 11, 1973 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 23–35–9 |
| 68 | W | March 14, 1973 | 5–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 24–35–9 |
| 69 | L | March 15, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 24–36–9 |
| 70 | W | March 17, 1973 | 7–5 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 25–36–9 |
| 71 | L | March 18, 1973 | 1–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 25–37–9 |
| 72 | L | March 21, 1973 | 1–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 25–38–9 |
| 73 | L | March 23, 1973 | 4–7 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 25–39–9 |
| 74 | L | March 25, 1973 | 4–7 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 25–40–9 |
| 75 | L | March 27, 1973 | 1–8 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 25–41–9 |
| 76 | W | March 29, 1973 | 6–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 26–41–9 |
| 77 | W | March 31, 1973 | 7–3 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 27–41–9 |
| 78 | T | April 1, 1973 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 27–41–10 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Darryl Sittler | C | 78 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 69 | −11 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Kehoe | RW | 77 | 33 | 42 | 75 | 20 | −11 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Dave Keon | C | 76 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Norm Ullman | C | 65 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 10 | −18 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim McKenny | D | 77 | 11 | 41 | 52 | 55 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Ellis | RW | 78 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 22 | −1 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Pierre Jarry | LW | 74 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 42 | −13 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Denis Dupere | LW | 61 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 10 | −4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Henderson | RW | 40 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 68 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Garry Monahan | LW | 78 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 53 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| George Ferguson | C | 72 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 34 | −17 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Pelyk | D | 72 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 118 | −20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Glennie | D | 44 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Lundrigan | D | 49 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| John Grisdale | D | 49 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 76 | −22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Fortier | D | 23 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 63 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry McIntyre | D | 40 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Baun | D | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Osburn | LW | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | −5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Clancy | RW | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord McRae | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyle Moffat | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Plante | G | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Smedsmo | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ron Low | 2343 | 42 | 12 | 24 | 4 | 152 | 3.89 | 1 |
| Jacques Plante | 1717 | 32 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 87 | 3.04 | 1 |
| Gord McRae | 620 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 3.77 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 27 | 41 | 10 | 278 | 3.56 | 2 |
    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 1972–73 season.

### Trades

| March 3, 1973 | To Boston BruinsJacques Plante 3rd round pick in 1973 – Doug Gibson | To Toronto Maple Leafs1st round pick in 1973 – Ian Turnbull Future Considerations |
| May 15, 1973 | To Minnesota North Stars11th round pick in 1973 – Russ Wiechnik | To Toronto Maple LeafsCash |
| May 15, 1973 | To Philadelphia FlyersBernie Parent 2nd round pick in 1973 – Larry Goodenough | To Toronto Maple Leafs1st round pick in 1973 – Bob Neely Future Considerations |
| May 15, 1973 | To New York IslandersCash | To Toronto Maple Leafs10th round pick in 1973 – Lee Palmer 11th round pick in 1973 – Norm McLeod |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Borje Salming | Brynäs IF (Division 1) |
| Inge Hammarstrom | Brynäs IF (Division 1) |

## Draft picks

Toronto's draft picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 11 | George Ferguson | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 2 | 27 | Randy Osburn | Canada | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 43 | Denis Deslauriers | Canada | Shawinigan Dynamos (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 59 | Brian Bowles | Canada | Cornwall Royals (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 75 | Michel Plante | Canada | Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 91 | Dave Shardlow | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 7 | 107 | Monte Miron | Canada | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 8 | 123 | Peter Williams | Canada | University of Prince Edward Island (CIAU) |
| 9 | 139 | Pat Boutette | Canada | University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA) |
| 9 | 143 | Garry Schofield | United States | Clarkson University (ECAC) |