1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1967-68 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 51st season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs finished 5th in the East Division and missed the playoffs.
==Off-season==
==Pre-season==
The Maple Leafs held their training camp in Peterborough, Ontario.
===Draft Picks===
Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
===Players Lost in Expansion Draft===
The following Maple Leafs were lost to various franchises in the Expansion Draft.
Player 	Position	Drafted to
Al Arbour 	(D) 	St. Louis Blues
Bob Baun 	(D) 	Oakland Seals
Don Blackburn 	(W) 	Philadelphia Flyers
John Brenneman 	(LW) 	St. Louis Blues
Terry Clancy 	(W) 	Oakland Seals
Mike Corrigan 	(LW) 	Los Angeles Kings
Kent Douglas 	(D) 	Oakland Seals
Darryl Edestrand	(D) 	St. Louis Blues
Aut Erickson 	(D) 	Oakland Seals
Bill Flett 	(RW) 	Los Angeles Kings
Pat Hannigan 	(LW) 	Philadelphia Flyers
Fred Hucul 	(D) 	St. Louis Blues
Larry Jeffrey 	(LW) 	Pittsburgh Penguins
Ed Joyal 	(C) 	Los Angeles Kings
Larry Keenan 	(LW) 	St. Louis Blues
Mike Laughton 	(W) 	Oakland Seals
Lowell MacDonald	(LW) 	Los Angeles Kings
Terry Sawchuk 	(G) 	Los Angeles Kings
Brit Selby 	(W) 	Philadelphia Flyers
Gary Smith 	(G) 	Oakland Seals
Gary Veneruzzo 	(LW) 	St. Louis Blues
==Regular Season==
Called up from the London Nationals of the OHA, Garry Unger played his first NHL game on November 4, 1967 in a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers. The November 6, 1967 match versus Boston saw a bench clearing brawl at 5:28 of the second period. With the Bruins leading 1-0 on a Bobby Orr Power play goal, Leafs Brian Conacher was killing a penalty and dumped the puck into the Bruins zone as Orr approached him. Conacher's stick came up and broke Orr's nose. John McKenzie starting pummelling Conacher, who fell to the ice. Orr then joined in on beating Conacher, which resulted in the Leafs bench clearing, followed by the Bruins. It was the first bench clearing brawl in the league since December 6, 1963. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.
J. P. Parisé played his only game for the Maple Leafs on November 15, 1967 in a 4-2 win over the Bruins and recorded an assist. Having signed a contract with Toronto, Garry Unger was given a regular shift with Pete Stemkowski and Jim Pappin for the November 18, 1967 game versus the Chicago Black Hawks. Trailing 1-0 early in the second period, Stemkowski dug the puck out of the corner and his centering pass caromed to Unger who whacked in his first NHL goal past Denis DeJordy.
Disaster struck during the December 9, 1967 Bruins-Leafs game in Toronto. In the first period while killing a penalty to Skip Krake, Bobby Orr began to carry the puck from in front of the Bruins net. He was hit with a clean check by Frank Mahovlich which broke his left collarbone. Amazingly, Orr played another penalty-killing shift before leaving the game. Later, a Mahovlich slap shot hit Ted Green above the knee and he was forced to leave the game. Green's injury caused him to miss only two games but Orr was out until Christmas.
Mike Byers played his first NHL game on December 30, 1967 in an 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The Maple Leafs hosted the 21st National Hockey League All-Star Game at Maple Leaf Gardens on January 16, 1968. Toronto beat a team of All-Stars by a score of 4-3. Mike Pelyk and André Hinse were both called up for their first NHL game, a 3-2 loss to Chicago Black Hawks on February 7, 1968. Hinse played three more games, his only in the NHL, while Pelyk became a regular, his first of nine seasons for the Maple Leafs.
With playoff chances fading, the Red Wings made a blockbuster trade with the Maple Leafs on March 3, 1968, sending Norm Ullman, Paul Henderson, Floyd Smith and Doug Barrie in exchange for Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger and the rights to Carl Brewer. The teams met less than a week later on March 9 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Detroit took a 4-0 lead, led by Mahovlich's goal and two assists. However, Ullman turned the tide with two goals and an assist as Toronto came back to win 7-5. Despite excellent performances from Mahovlich, Ullman, Unger and Henderson for the rest of the season, both teams missed the playoffs.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W 	October 14, 1967 	5–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	1–0–0
2 	W 	October 15, 1967 	5–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	2–0–0
3 	L 	October 18, 1967 	2–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	2–1–0
4 	L 	October 19, 1967 	0–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	2–2–0
5 	L 	October 21, 1967 	3–5 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	2–3–0
6 	W 	October 25, 1967 	4–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	3–3–0
7 	W 	October 28, 1967 	5–2 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	4–3–0
8 	L 	October 29, 1967 	2–3 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	4–4–0
9 	W 	November 1, 1967 	5–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	5–4–0
10 	W 	November 2, 1967 	9–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	6–4–0
11 	W 	November 4, 1967 	4–2 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	7–4–0
12 	T 	November 5, 1967 	2–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	7–4–1
13 	W 	November 8, 1967 	6–1 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	8–4–1
14 	L 	November 9, 1967 	1–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	8–5–1
15 	L 	November 11, 1967 	1–2 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	8–6–1
16 	W 	November 15, 1967 	4–2 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	9–6–1
17 	T 	November 18, 1967 	2–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	9–6–2
18 	L 	November 19, 1967 	2–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	9–7–2
19 	W 	November 22, 1967 	3–0 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	10–7–2
20 	W 	November 25, 1967 	3–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	11–7–2
21 	W 	November 29, 1967 	2–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	12–7–2
22 	T 	November 30, 1967 	3–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	12–7–3
23 	W 	December 2, 1967 	3–0 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	13–7–3
24 	T 	December 6, 1967 	1–1 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	13–7–4
25 	T 	December 9, 1967 	3–3 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	13–7–5
26 	L 	December 10, 1967 	1–2 	@ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	13–8–5
27 	L 	December 13, 1967 	1–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	13–9–5
28 	W 	December 16, 1967 	4–2 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	14–9–5
29 	L 	December 17, 1967 	0–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	14–10–5
30 	L 	December 20, 1967 	0–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	14–11–5
31 	W 	December 23, 1967 	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	15–11–5
32 	W 	December 25, 1967 	3–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	16–11–5
33 	T 	December 27, 1967 	2–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	16–11–6
34 	W 	December 30, 1967 	8–1 	St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	17–11–6
35 	L 	December 31, 1967 	0–4 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	17–12–6
36 	T 	January 3, 1968 	1–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	17–12–7
37 	T 	January 6, 1968 	3–3 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	17–12–8
38 	L 	January 7, 1968 	2–6 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	17–13–8
39 	W 	January 10, 1968 	2–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	18–13–8
40 	L 	January 12, 1968 	3–4 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	18–14–8
41 	W 	January 13, 1968 	7–0 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	19–14–8
42 	W 	January 18, 1968 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	20–14–8
43 	W 	January 20, 1968 	5–1 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	21–14–8
44 	W 	January 21, 1968 	2–0 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	22–14–8
45 	L 	January 24, 1968 	1–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	22–15–8
46 	L 	January 27, 1968 	1–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	22–16–8
47 	W 	January 28, 1968 	3–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	23–16–8
48 	L 	January 30, 1968 	0–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	23–17–8
49 	T 	February 3, 1968 	3–3 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	23–17–9
50 	L 	February 4, 1968 	1–4 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	23–18–9
51 	L 	February 7, 1968 	2–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	23–19–9
52 	L 	February 11, 1968 	3–4 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	23–20–9
53 	L 	February 12, 1968 	0–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	23–21–9
54 	L 	February 14, 1968 	2–4 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	23–22–9
55 	L 	February 17, 1968 	2–3 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	23–23–9
56 	L 	February 21, 1968 	1–5 	St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	23–24–9
57 	W 	February 24, 1968 	1–0 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	24–24–9
58 	L 	February 25, 1968 	1–3 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	24–25–9
59 	L 	February 28, 1968 	0–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	24–26–9
60 	L 	February 29, 1968 	1–4 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	24–27–9
61 	W 	March 2, 1968 	5–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	25–27–9
62 	W 	March 6, 1968 	7–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	26–27–9
63 	W 	March 9, 1968 	7–5 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	27–27–9
64 	L 	March 10, 1968 	0–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	27–28–9
65 	T 	March 13, 1968 	3–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	27–28–10
66 	W 	March 16, 1968 	3–0 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	28–28–10
67 	L 	March 17, 1968 	4–7 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	28–29–10
68 	L 	March 20, 1968 	2–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	28–30–10
69 	W 	March 21, 1968 	5–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	29–30–10
70 	W 	March 23, 1968 	3–1 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	30–30–10
71 	L 	March 24, 1968 	2–4 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	30–31–10
72 	W 	March 27, 1968 	6–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	31–31–10
73 	W 	March 30, 1968 	3–0 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	32–31–10
74 	W 	March 31, 1968 	4–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	33–31–10
==Playoffs==
*The Maple Leafs did not qualify for the post season.
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
# 	Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
16 	 	73	30	29	59 	48
20 	 	74	20	30	50 	40
8 	 	74	28	20	48 	8
14 	 	67	11	37	48 	4
11 	 	74	16	21	37 	18
27 	 	50	19	17	36 	30
10 	 	62	13	21	34 	4
18 	 	58	13	15	28 	37
7 	 	69	4 	23	27 	82
22 	 	64	11	14	25 	31
12 	 	60	7 	15	22 	82
2 	 	55	3 	17	20 	13
3 	 	70	3 	17	20 	48
25 	 	65	8 	11	19 	34
9 	 	13	5 	12	17 	2
26 	 	64	1 	13	14 	16
19 	 	13	5 	6 	11 	8
4 	 	71	1 	8 	9 	42
17 	 	6 	6 	1 	7 	0
17, 24	 	10	2 	2 	4 	0
21 	 	24	0 	3 	3 	55
17 	 	15	1 	1 	2 	4
15 	Tom Martin	3 	1 	0 	1 	0
24 	 	5 	1 	0 	1 	0
19 	 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0
1 	 	43	0 	1 	1 	14
17 	 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
23 	 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
21 	 	17	0 	0 	0 	4
30 	 	41	0 	0 	0 	2
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SA 	SV 	SV% 	SO
 	2201	41	19	13	3 	85 	2.32	1294	1209	.934	5
 	2239	43	14	18	7 	84 	2.25	1275	1191	.934	4
Team: 	4440	74	33	31	10	169	2.28	2569	2400	.934	9
==Awards and Records==
*Bruce Gamble, All-Star Game MVPNational Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 219, Dan Diamond & 
Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
*Vezina Trophy: Johnny Bower & Bruce Gamble, Runner-Up National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 221, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
*Tim Horton, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star
==Transactions==
The Maple Leafs were involved in the following transactions during the 1967-68 season.
===Trades===
June 6, 1967 	To Minnesota North StarsKen BroderickBarry MacKenzieGary Dineen 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
June 8, 1967 	To Los Angeles KingsRed Kelly 	To Toronto Maple LeafsKen Block
September 1, 1967 	To Philadelphia FlyersAl Millar 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
September 12, 1967	To Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL)Tom Polanic 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
October 3, 1967 	To California SealsGerry Ehman 	To Toronto Maple LeafsBryan Hextall Jr.J.P. Parise
October 15, 1967 	To Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL)Walt McKechnie 	To Toronto Maple LeafsSteve Witiuk
December 23, 1967 	To Minnesota North StarsJ.P. PariseMilan Marcetta 	To Toronto Maple LeafsTed TaylorMurray HallDon JohnsLen LandleDuke HarrisCarl Wetzel
January 13, 1968 	To Minnesota North StarsBronco Horvath 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
March 3, 1968 	To Rochester Americans (AHL)Duke Harris 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
March 3, 1968 	To Detroit Red WingsFrank MahovlichPete StemkowskiGarry UngerCarl Brewer	To Toronto Maple LeafsDoug BarrieNorm UllmanPaul HendersonFloyd Smith
March 25, 1968 	To St. Louis BluesCash 	To Toronto Maple LeafsPat Quinn
May 14, 1968 	To Oakland SealsCash 	To Toronto Maple LeafsTerry Clancy
May 23, 1968 	To Chicago Black HawksJim Pappin 	To Toronto Maple LeafsPierre Pilote
June 6, 1968 	To Detroit Red WingsDoug Barrie 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
June 6, 1968 	To Rochester Americans (AHL)Murray Hall 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
June 11, 1968 	To Vancouver Canucks (WHL)Bob Barlow 	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
===Intra-League Draft===
June 12, 1968	To New York RangersBrian Conacher
June 12, 1968	To Minnesota North StarsDuane Rupp
June 12, 1968	To New York RangersLarry Hillman
June 12, 1968	From Minnesota North StarsBill Plager
June 12, 1968	From New York RangersLarry Mickey
June 12, 1968	From Minnesota North StarsBill Sutherland
June 12, 1968	From Detroit Red WingsGary Marsh
===Reverse Draft===
June 13, 1968	To Philadelphia FlyersAllan Stanley
June 13, 1968	To Portland Buckaroos (WHL)Rick Foley
June 13, 1968	From Detroit Red WingsGeorge Gardner
===Free Agents===
{|class="wikitable"	
Player 	Former Team
Rene Robert	Undrafted Free Agent
==Trivia==
*Maple Leafs who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
**Mike Walton during the 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins on November 15, 1967.
**Frank Mahovlich during the 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on December 30, 1967.
**Bob Pulford during the 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 13, 1968.
**Floyd Smith during the 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 17, 1968.
==Gallery==
1968-Jan6-Westfall goal.gif|Ed Westfall scores, January 6, 1968.
24Feb1968-Stanfield_Cheevers_Unger_Smith.jpg|Fred Stanfield, Gerry Cheevers, Garry Unger, Dallas Smith, February 24, 1968.
67-68NHLPhiTorExhQuebecGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Quebec City
==Video==
Blues-Leafs game from December 30, 1967.
1967 NHL Regular Season St Louis at Toronto 12 30 1967
Nearly three hours of video from the Bruins-Maple Leafs game on January 6, 1968. All goals are shown including one by Bobby Orr which tied the game 3-3. An interview with Derek Sanderson is shown in the first intermission. During the second intermission, highlights from the December 27, 1967 Bruins-Black Hawks game are shown including a Hat trick by Phil Esposito. Milt Schmidt is then interviewed.
1968 JAN 6 BRUINS @ MAPLE LEAFS
Leafs-Black Hawks game from March 10, 1968.
1968 CHICAGO vs TORONTO PART BROADCAST IN COLOR
==References==
* Maple Leafs on Hockey Database
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs seasons
Category:1967 in hockey
Category:1968 in hockey