# 1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the Toronto Maple Leafs 52nd season of the franchise, 42nd season as the Maple Leafs. Although the Maple Leafs made the playoffs, they were swept in the quarter-finals by Boston, suffering two crushing defeats at Boston Garden.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Club team |
| 1 | 10 | Brad Selwood | Defence | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) |

## Regular season
### Season standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 46 | 19 | 11 | 271 | 202 | +69 | 103 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 76 | 42 | 18 | 16 | 303 | 221 | +82 | 100 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 76 | 41 | 26 | 9 | 231 | 196 | +35 | 91 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 76 | 35 | 26 | 15 | 234 | 217 | +17 | 85 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 76 | 33 | 31 | 12 | 239 | 221 | +18 | 78 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 76 | 34 | 33 | 9 | 280 | 246 | +34 | 77 |

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

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 13, 1968 | 2–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 16, 1968 | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 19, 1968 | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | W | October 23, 1968 | 6–4 | St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | W | October 26, 1968 | 2–0 | Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | W | October 27, 1968 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | L | October 30, 1968 | 0–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | L | November 2, 1968 | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | W | November 6, 1968 | 1–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 5–3–1 |
| 10 | L | November 9, 1968 | 1–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | November 10, 1968 | 3–1 | @ Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | T | November 13, 1968 | 1–1 | Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 6–4–2 |
| 13 | W | November 14, 1968 | 5–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 7–4–2 |
| 14 | W | November 16, 1968 | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 8–4–2 |
| 15 | T | November 17, 1968 | 1–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 8–4–3 |
| 16 | W | November 20, 1968 | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 9–4–3 |
| 17 | L | November 23, 1968 | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 9–5–3 |
| 18 | L | November 24, 1968 | 4–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 9–6–3 |
| 19 | T | November 27, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 9–6–4 |
| 20 | T | November 30, 1968 | 3–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 9–6–5 |
| 21 | L | December 1, 1968 | 1–3 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 9–7–5 |
| 22 | W | December 4, 1968 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 10–7–5 |
| 23 | W | December 7, 1968 | 5–2 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 11–7–5 |
| 24 | W | December 8, 1968 | 4–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 12–7–5 |
| 25 | T | December 11, 1968 | 4–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 12–7–6 |
| 26 | W | December 12, 1968 | 1–0 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 13–7–6 |
| 27 | W | December 14, 1968 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 14–7–6 |
| 28 | W | December 18, 1968 | 5–2 | Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 15–7–6 |
| 29 | W | December 21, 1968 | 8–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 16–7–6 |
| 30 | L | December 22, 1968 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 16–8–6 |
| 31 | W | December 25, 1968 | 4–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 17–8–6 |
| 32 | L | December 26, 1968 | 2–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 17–9–6 |
| 33 | L | December 28, 1968 | 1–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 17–10–6 |
| 34 | W | January 1, 1969 | 7–3 | Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 18–10–6 |
| 35 | W | January 4, 1969 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 19–10–6 |
| 36 | T | January 5, 1969 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 19–10–7 |
| 37 | T | January 8, 1969 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 19–10–8 |
| 38 | L | January 9, 1969 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 19–11–8 |
| 39 | W | January 11, 1969 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 20–11–8 |
| 40 | T | January 15, 1969 | 5–5 | Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 20–11–9 |
| 41 | T | January 18, 1969 | 1–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 20–11–10 |
| 42 | L | January 19, 1969 | 3–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 20–12–10 |
| 43 | W | January 23, 1969 | 3–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 21–12–10 |
| 44 | W | January 25, 1969 | 2–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 22–12–10 |
| 45 | L | January 26, 1969 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 22–13–10 |
| 46 | L | January 29, 1969 | 1–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 22–14–10 |
| 47 | L | January 31, 1969 | 4–5 | @ Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 22–15–10 |
| 48 | L | February 2, 1969 | 3–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 22–16–10 |
| 49 | T | February 5, 1969 | 5–5 | Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 22–16–11 |
| 50 | L | February 8, 1969 | 1–4 | Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 22–17–11 |
| 51 | W | February 9, 1969 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 23–17–11 |
| 52 | W | February 12, 1969 | 7–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 24–17–11 |
| 53 | W | February 15, 1969 | 6–2 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 25–17–11 |
| 54 | L | February 16, 1969 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 25–18–11 |
| 55 | W | February 19, 1969 | 5–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 26–18–11 |
| 56 | L | February 20, 1969 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 26–19–11 |
| 57 | L | February 22, 1969 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 26–20–11 |
| 58 | L | February 23, 1969 | 2–7 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 26–21–11 |
| 59 | W | February 26, 1969 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 27–21–11 |
| 60 | T | February 27, 1969 | 1–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 27–21–12 |
| 61 | T | March 1, 1969 | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 27–21–13 |
| 62 | W | March 2, 1969 | 2–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 28–21–13 |
| 63 | W | March 5, 1969 | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 29–21–13 |
| 64 | L | March 6, 1969 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 29–22–13 |
| 65 | T | March 8, 1969 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 29–22–14 |
| 66 | W | March 12, 1969 | 4–0 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 30–22–14 |
| 67 | W | March 13, 1969 | 3–1 | @ Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 31–22–14 |
| 68 | W | March 15, 1969 | 7–4 | Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 32–22–14 |
| 69 | L | March 16, 1969 | 3–11 | @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) | 32–23–14 |
| 70 | T | March 19, 1969 | 1–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 32–23–15 |
| 71 | W | March 22, 1969 | 3–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 33–23–15 |
| 72 | L | March 23, 1969 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 33–24–15 |
| 73 | W | March 26, 1969 | 6–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 34–24–15 |
| 74 | W | March 27, 1969 | 4–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 35–24–15 |
| 75 | L | March 29, 1969 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 35–25–15 |
| 76 | L | March 30, 1969 | 0–4 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 35–26–15 |

## Playoffs

Quarter-finals
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | April 2, 1969 | 0–10 | @ Boston Bruins | 0–1 |
| 2 | L | April 3, 1969 | 0–7 | @ Boston Bruins | 0–2 |
| 3 | L | April 5, 1969 | 3–4 | Boston Bruins | 0–3 |
| 4 | L | April 6, 1969 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins | 0–4 |

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

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Norm Ullman | 75 | 35 | 42 | 77 | 41 |
| Dave Keon | 75 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 12 |
| Paul Henderson | 74 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 16 |
| Murray Oliver | 76 | 14 | 36 | 50 | 16 |
| Ron Ellis | 72 | 25 | 21 | 46 | 12 |
| Mike Walton | 66 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 34 |
| Tim Horton | 74 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 107 |
| Floyd Smith | 64 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 22 |
| Bob Pulford | 72 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 20 |
| Jim Dorey | 61 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 200 |
| George Armstrong | 53 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 10 |
| Larry Mickey | 55 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 43 |
| Pierre Pilote | 69 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 46 |
| Bill Sutherland | 44 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| Mike Pelyk | 65 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 146 |
| Rick Ley | 38 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 39 |
| Pat Quinn | 40 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 95 |
| Brit Selby | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| Wayne Carleton | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Marcel Pronovost | 34 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| Forbes Kennedy | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| Gerry Meehan | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Johnny Bower | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Byers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Clancy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Gamble | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Marsh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim McKenny | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Al Smith | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Bruce Gamble | 3446 | 61 | 28 | 20 | 11 | 161 | 2.80 | 3 |
| Johnny Bower | 779 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 2.85 | 2 |
| Al Smith | 335 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 2.87 | 0 |
| Team: | 4560 | 76 | 35 | 26 | 15 | 214 | 2.82 | 5 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Dave Keon | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Ron Ellis | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Murray Oliver | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Norm Ullman | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jim Dorey | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| Paul Henderson | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Pierre Pilote | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| George Armstrong | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Bower | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Gamble | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Horton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Forbes Kennedy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Rick Ley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Larry Mickey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mike Pelyk | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Bob Pulford | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Pat Quinn | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Brit Selby | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Floyd Smith | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Walton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Johnny Bower | 154 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 4.29 | 0 |
| Bruce Gamble | 86 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 9.07 | 0 |
| Team: | 240 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 6.00 | 0 |

## Awards and records

* Tim Horton, runner-up, Norris Trophy.
* Tim Horton, 1968–69 NHL First Team All-Star

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1968–69 season.

### Trades

| September 30, 1968 | To Los Angeles KingsGary Croteau Brian Murphy Wayne Thomas | To Toronto Maple LeafsGrant Moore Lou Deveault |
| October 1, 1968 | To Vancouver Canucks (WHL)Darryl Sly | To Toronto Maple LeafsCash |
| March 2, 1969 | To Philadelphia FlyersGerry Meehan Mike Byers Bill Sutherland | To Toronto Maple LeafsBrit Selby Forbes Kennedy |
| May 1, 1969 | To Vancouver Canucks (WHL)Brad Selwood Rene Robert | To Toronto Maple LeafsRon Ward |
| May 30, 1969 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsForbes Kennedy | To Toronto Maple LeafsCash |

### Intra-league draft

| June 11, 1969 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsAl Smith |
| June 11, 1969 | To Montreal CanadiensLarry Mickey |
| June 11, 1969 | From Pittsburgh PenguinsMarv Edwards |