# 1983–84 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1983–84 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 67th season of the franchise, 57th season as the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 7 | Russ Courtnall | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 2 | 28 | Jeff Jackson | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHL) |
| 3 | 48 | Allan Bester | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHL) |
| 5 | 83 | Dan Hodgson | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 7 | 128 | Cam Plante | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 8 | 148 | Paul Bifano | Canada | Burnaby Bluehawks (BCJHL) |
| 9 | 168 | Cliff Abrecht | Canada | Princeton University (ECAC) |
| 10 | 184 | Greg Rolston | United States | Powers High School (USHS-MI) |
| 10 | 188 | Dale Ross | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 11 | 208 | Mike Tomlak | Canada | Cornwall Royals (OHL) |
| 12 | 228 | Ron Choules | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 39 | 31 | 10 | 345 | 344 | 88 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 32 | 41 | 7 | 293 | 316 | 71 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 31 | 42 | 7 | 298 | 323 | 69 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 30 | 42 | 8 | 277 | 311 | 68 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 26 | 45 | 9 | 303 | 387 | 61 |
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

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Chicago
—4−42−64−3−15−2−115−15−2
Detroit
4−4—2−65−33−514−18−0
Minnesota
6−26−2—5−2−15−2−122−8−2
St. Louis
3−4−13−52−5−1—6−214−16−2
Toronto
2−5−15−32−5−12−6—11−19−2
Vs. Smythe Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Chicago
1−21−20−32−11−25−10−0
Detroit
2−10−30−2−11−21−0−24−8−3
Minnesota
1−20−2−11−1−11−1−12−15−7−3
St. Louis
0−2−12−11−1−12−11−26−7−2
Toronto
0−1−21−22−0−10−1−20−33−7−5
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Chicago
2−12−11−20−2−11−1−16−7−2
Detroit
1−21−1−11−1−10−32−15−8−2
Minnesota
2−12−10−32−10−2−16−8−1
St. Louis
0−31−21−20−30−2−12−12−1
Toronto
2−10−2−11−21−21−25−9−1
Vs. Patrick Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Chicago
1−20−31−20−1−21−1−11−1−14−10−4
Detroit
1−22−10−30−1−23−02−18−8−2
Minnesota
2−10−2−11−1−11−0−22−10−36−8−4
St. Louis
3−01−1−11−22−12−0−11−210−6−2
Toronto
3−01−22−10−31−1−10−37−10−1 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 5, 1983 | 4–5 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1983–84) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 8, 1983 | 6–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1983–84) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 9, 1983 | 4–7 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1983–84) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | T | October 12, 1983 | 4–4 OT | Buffalo Sabres (1983–84) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | W | October 15, 1983 | 10–8 | Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | W | October 16, 1983 | 4–1 | @ New Jersey Devils (1983–84) | 3–2–1 |
| 7 | L | October 19, 1983 | 1–8 | Quebec Nordiques (1983–84) | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | W | October 22, 1983 | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1983–84) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | L | October 23, 1983 | 5–8 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1983–84) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | W | October 26, 1983 | 8–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1983–84) | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | October 28, 1983 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1983–84) | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | T | October 29, 1983 | 5–5 OT | Los Angeles Kings (1983–84) | 6–4–2 |
| 13 | L | November 2, 1983 | 5–8 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 6–5–2 |
| 14 | L | November 4, 1983 | 2–8 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1983–84) | 6–6–2 |
| 15 | L | November 5, 1983 | 3–5 | @ Calgary Flames (1983–84) | 6–7–2 |
| 16 | W | November 9, 1983 | 2–1 | New Jersey Devils (1983–84) | 7–7–2 |
| 17 | L | November 11, 1983 | 1–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1983–84) | 7–8–2 |
| 18 | L | November 12, 1983 | 3–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1983–84) | 7–9–2 |
| 19 | W | November 16, 1983 | 3–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1983–84) | 8–9–2 |
| 20 | L | November 17, 1983 | 1–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1983–84) | 8–10–2 |
| 21 | W | November 19, 1983 | 5–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 9–10–2 |
| 22 | L | November 22, 1983 | 4–7 | @ St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 9–11–2 |
| 23 | W | November 23, 1983 | 6–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 10–11–2 |
| 24 | L | November 26, 1983 | 6–7 OT | Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 10–12–2 |
| 25 | W | November 30, 1983 | 5–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 11–12–2 |
| 26 | T | December 3, 1983 | 5–5 OT | Vancouver Canucks (1983–84) | 11–12–3 |
| 27 | L | December 7, 1983 | 3–4 | St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 11–13–3 |
| 28 | W | December 8, 1983 | 8–6 | @ Hartford Whalers (1983–84) | 12–13–3 |
| 29 | T | December 10, 1983 | 3–3 OT | Calgary Flames (1983–84) | 12–13–4 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1983 | 4–8 | Winnipeg Jets (1983–84) | 12–14–4 |
| 31 | L | December 17, 1983 | 1–3 | Washington Capitals (1983–84) | 12–15–4 |
| 32 | T | December 18, 1983 | 3–3 OT | Pittsburgh Penguins (1983–84) | 12–15–5 |
| 33 | W | December 21, 1983 | 5–4 | St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 13–15–5 |
| 34 | L | December 23, 1983 | 2–9 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 13–16–5 |
| 35 | W | December 26, 1983 | 6–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 14–16–5 |
| 36 | L | December 28, 1983 | 6–8 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 14–17–5 |
| 37 | L | December 29, 1983 | 1–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 14–18–5 |
| 38 | W | December 31, 1983 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1983–84) | 15–18–5 |
| 39 | L | January 3, 1984 | 3–8 | @ St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 15–19–5 |
| 40 | L | January 4, 1984 | 1–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 15–20–5 |
| 41 | L | January 7, 1984 | 2–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1983–84) | 15–21–5 |
| 42 | L | January 8, 1984 | 2–5 | St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 15–22–5 |
| 43 | L | January 11, 1984 | 4–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1983–84) | 15–23–5 |
| 44 | L | January 12, 1984 | 4–5 OT | @ Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 15–24–5 |
| 45 | T | January 14, 1984 | 2–2 OT | Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 15–24–6 |
| 46 | W | January 18, 1984 | 9–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 16–24–6 |
| 47 | L | January 21, 1984 | 3–6 | New York Rangers (1983–84) | 16–25–6 |
| 48 | L | January 23, 1984 | 2–6 | Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 16–26–6 |
| 49 | L | January 24, 1984 | 3–6 | @ St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 16–27–6 |
| 50 | L | January 27, 1984 | 1–6 | @ Washington Capitals (1983–84) | 16–28–6 |
| 51 | L | January 28, 1984 | 0–8 | Washington Capitals (1983–84) | 16–29–6 |
| 52 | L | February 1, 1984 | 2–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 16–30–6 |
| 53 | W | February 4, 1984 | 6–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 17–30–6 |
| 54 | L | February 5, 1984 | 0–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1983–84) | 17–31–6 |
| 55 | W | February 8, 1984 | 6–4 | Boston Bruins (1983–84) | 18–31–6 |
| 56 | W | February 9, 1984 | 6–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1983–84) | 19–31–6 |
| 57 | W | February 11, 1984 | 5–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1983–84) | 20–31–6 |
| 58 | W | February 13, 1984 | 3–1 | New York Islanders (1983–84) | 21–31–6 |
| 59 | L | February 15, 1984 | 1–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 21–32–6 |
| 60 | L | February 18, 1984 | 2–8 | Hartford Whalers (1983–84) | 21–33–6 |
| 61 | L | February 19, 1984 | 2–6 | Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 21–34–6 |
| 62 | T | February 21, 1984 | 2–2 OT | @ Calgary Flames (1983–84) | 21–34–7 |
| 63 | L | February 25, 1984 | 3–8 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1983–84) | 21–35–7 |
| 64 | T | February 26, 1984 | 4–4 OT | @ Vancouver Canucks (1983–84) | 21–35–8 |
| 65 | W | February 29, 1984 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1983–84) | 22–35–8 |
| 66 | L | March 3, 1984 | 6–11 | New York Islanders (1983–84) | 22–36–8 |
| 67 | L | March 4, 1984 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 22–37–8 |
| 68 | W | March 7, 1984 | 8–4 | New Jersey Devils (1983–84) | 23–37–8 |
| 69 | L | March 8, 1984 | 5–9 | @ New York Islanders (1983–84) | 23–38–8 |
| 70 | W | March 10, 1984 | 4–3 OT | Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 24–38–8 |
| 71 | L | March 12, 1984 | 7–8 OT | Winnipeg Jets (1983–84) | 24–39–8 |
| 72 | T | March 14, 1984 | 3–3 OT | Minnesota North Stars (1983–84) | 24–39–9 |
| 73 | L | March 15, 1984 | 3–5 | @ Hartford Whalers (1983–84) | 24–40–9 |
| 74 | L | March 17, 1984 | 1–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1983–84) | 24–41–9 |
| 75 | L | March 21, 1984 | 1–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1983–84) | 24–42–9 |
| 76 | W | March 24, 1984 | 7–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 25–42–9 |
| 77 | L | March 25, 1984 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1983–84) | 25–43–9 |
| 78 | L | March 28, 1984 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1983–84) | 25–44–9 |
| 79 | W | March 31, 1984 | 6–4 | St. Louis Blues (1983–84) | 26–44–9 |
| 80 | L | April 1, 1984 | 2–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1983–84) | 26–45–9 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Rick Vaive | RW | 76 | 52 | 41 | 93 | 114 | -12 | 17 | 0 | 6 |
| Dan Daoust | C | 78 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 88 | -16 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| John Anderson | RW | 73 | 37 | 31 | 68 | 22 | -12 | 14 | 0 | 5 |
| Bill Derlago | C | 79 | 40 | 20 | 60 | 50 | -8 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| Jim Benning | D | 79 | 12 | 39 | 51 | 66 | -4 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Dale McCourt | C | 72 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 10 | -16 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Borje Salming | D | 68 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 92 | -34 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Greg Terrion | LW | 79 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 36 | -6 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Stew Gavin | LW | 80 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 90 | -6 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 59 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 16 | -30 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Korn | D/LW | 65 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 257 | -33 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Miroslav Frycer | RW | 47 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 55 | -24 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Martin | LW | 63 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 51 | -8 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Walt Poddubny | LW | 38 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 48 | -13 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Ihnacak | C | 47 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 24 | -21 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Farrish | D | 59 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 57 | -13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Stewart | D | 56 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 116 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 50 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | -20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Nylund | D | 47 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 103 | -27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Leeman | RW | 52 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 31 | -14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Russ Courtnall | RW | 14 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Graham | LW | 41 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 65 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Nigro | C | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Costello | C | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Hutchison | D | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 137 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob McGill | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Palmateer | G | 34 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Strong | LW | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Allan Bester | G | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Britz | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bruce Dowie | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Basil McRae | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Perlini | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick St. Croix | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Wregget | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Yaremchuk | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Allan Bester | 1848 | 32 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 134 | 4.35 | 0 |
| Mike Palmateer | 1831 | 34 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 149 | 4.88 | 0 |
| Rick St. Croix | 939 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 80 | 5.11 | 0 |
| Ken Wregget | 165 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 5.09 | 0 |
| Bruce Dowie | 72 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3.33 | 0 |
| Team: | 4855 | 80 | 26 | 45 | 9 | 381 | 4.71 | 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;

## Transactions

The Maple Leafs were involved in the following transactions during the 1983–84 season.

### Trades

| August 12, 1983 | To Quebec NordiquesRichard Turmel | To Toronto Maple LeafsBasil McRae |
| August 12, 1983 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsRocky Saganiuk Vincent Tremblay | To Toronto Maple LeafsPat Graham Nick Ricci |
| October 6, 1983 | To Washington CapitalsDave Shand | To Toronto Maple LeafsLee Norwood |
| February 15, 1984 | To Los Angeles KingsBilly Harris | To Toronto Maple LeafsCash |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Bill Stewart | St. Louis Blues |
| Dale McCourt | Buffalo Sabres |
| Greg Britz | Undrafted Free Agent |
| Steve Thomas | Undrafted Free Agent |
| Player | New Team |
| Barry Melrose | Detroit Red Wings |
| Bob Manno | Detroit Red Wings |
| Doug Gibson | Winnipeg Jets |
| Reid Bailey | Hartford Whalers |