1973 – 74 Toronto Toros season The 1973 – 74 Toronto Toros season was the team ' s first season in Toronto , as they spent their inaugural season as the Ottawa Nationals in 1972 - 73 . Offseason . The Nationals were moved to Toronto and sold to John F . Bassett , son of former Toronto Maple Leafs part owner John Bassett . The new owner renamed team the Toros , as its short for Toronto , and its also a Spanish bull . To attract attention , Bassett signed 18 year old Toronto Marlboros star Wayne Dillon , and former Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Brewer to anchor the blueline . The Toros also thought they had a deal to sign Maple Leafs star player Darryl Sittler to a five year , $ 1 million contract , however , Sittler decided to return to the Leafs . The Toros originally planned to move the team into a renovated CNE Coliseum , while Bill Ballard , the son of Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard and was running Maple Leaf Gardens due to his father being in prison , was opposed of the renovation and wanted the team to play in the Gardens . The Toros decided to spend the season at Varsity Arena , which seated 4 , 860 fans . As the Ottawa Nationals the previous season , the team finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division with a 35 - 39 - 4 record , losing to the New England Whalers in the first round of the playoffs . Regular season . The first game for the Toros was played on October 7 , 1973 at Varsity Arena , with Toronto tying the Chicago Cougars 4 - 4 . The Toros would get off to a sluggish start , going 0 - 2 - 2 in their first four games before defeating the Los Angeles Sharks 3 - 0 on the road . The team continued to slump , and through their first twelve games , sat with a record of 2 - 7 - 3 . Toronto would break out of their slump though , and post a record of 17 - 11 - 0 in their next 28 games to go over the . 500 for the first time . The Toros would keep up their great play , and end the season in second place in the Eastern Division , with a 41 - 33 - 4 record , earning 86 points , which was a twelve point improvement over the previous season . Head coach Billy Harris won the Howard Baldwin Trophy , presented to the Coach of the Year . Offensively , Toronto was led by Wayne Carleton , who finished with a team high 37 goals and 92 points and finished sixth in league scoring . Gavin Kirk had another solid season , earning 68 points in 78 games , while rookie Wayne Dillon earned 65 points in 71 games . The defense was led by Brian Gibbons , who had 35 points , while Carl Brewer chipped in with 25 points . Rick Cunningham led the Toros with 88 penalty minutes . In goal , Gilles Gratton had the majority of playing time , winning 26 games while posting a GAA of 3 . 53 , along with two shutouts . Les Binkley backed him up , winning 14 games with a team best 3 . 27 GAA , and a shutout . Playoffs . The Toros opened the playoffs in a best of seven series against the Cleveland Crusaders , who finished in third place in the Eastern Division , three points behind Toronto . The series opened at Varsity Arena , with the Toros shutting out the Crusaders 4 - 0 in the series opener , followed by a close 4 - 3 victory in the second game to take a 2 - 0 series lead . The series shifted to Cleveland for the next two games , however , the Toros took the third game 4 - 2 to put the Crusaders on the brink of elimination . Cleveland managed to avoid being eliminated in the fourth game , winning 3 - 2 in overtime , however , the series returned to Toronto for the fifth game , with the Toros winning 4 - 1 to take the series in five games . Next up for Toronto was the Chicago Cougars , who finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division , five points behind the Toros . The Cougars defeated the first place New England Whalers in seven games to advance to the Divisional Finals . The series opened in Toronto , and the Toros took an early series lead with a 6 - 4 victory in the first game . The Cougars would win the second game 4 - 3 to even the series up . The series moved to Chicago for the next two games , and the Cougars took a 2 - 1 series lead with a 3 - 2 victory in the third game , however , the Toros won a wild fourth game by a 7 - 6 score to even the series up again . In the fifth game in Toronto , the Toros took care of the Cougars 5 - 3 to go up 3 - 2 in the series . Back in Chicago for the sixth game , the Cougars fought off elimination , easily defeating Toronto by a 9 - 2 score , setting up a seventh and final game at Varsity Arena . Chicago would upset the favoured Toros , winning the game 5 - 2 to advance to the Avco Cup finals , ending Toronto ' s season . Player stats . Playoff stats . Team Roster Draft picks . Toronto ' s draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft .