1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1971-72 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 55th season in the NHL and the fortieth anniversary season of the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens. The Maple Leafs finished 4th in the East Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1.
==Off-season==
In June 1971, team president Stafford Smythe and vice-president Harold Ballard were arrested for theft and fraud involving funds of Maple Leaf Gardens. They were charged jointly on the theft of $146,000 of funds and securities and Smythe was further charged for defrauding Maple Leaf Gardens of $249,000.
==Regular Season==
On October 13, just after the start of the season, Smythe died of complications from a bleeding ulcer. The Leaf's home opener, scheduled for that night was postponed, only the second postponement in Maple Leaf Gardens history.
===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 8, 1971 	3–2 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 	1–0–0
2 	T 	October 10, 1971 	3–3 	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	1–0–1
3 	L 	October 16, 1971 	3–5 	New York Rangers (1971–72) 	1–1–1
4 	T 	October 17, 1971 	2–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 	1–1–2
5 	L 	October 20, 1971 	2–7 	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 	1–2–2
6 	L 	October 22, 1971 	2–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 	1–3–2
7 	W 	October 23, 1971 	5–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 	2–3–2
8 	T 	October 27, 1971 	0–0 	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 	2–3–3
9 	T 	October 30, 1971 	1–1 	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 	2–3–4
10 	T 	October 31, 1971 	3–3 	@ New York Rangers (1971–72) 	2–3–5
11 	W 	November 1, 1971 	6–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 	3–3–5
12 	L 	November 3, 1971 	1–2 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 	3–4–5
13 	W 	November 6, 1971 	3–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 	4–4–5
14 	L 	November 7, 1971 	1–8 	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	4–5–5
15 	L 	November 10, 1971 	2–5 	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 	4–6–5
16 	T 	November 13, 1971 	2–2 	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 	4–6–6
17 	T 	November 14, 1971 	3–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 	4–6–7
18 	W 	November 17, 1971 	5–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 	5–6–7
19 	W 	November 20, 1971 	5–1 	California Golden Seals (1971–72) 	6–6–7
20 	W 	November 21, 1971 	4–3 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 	7–6–7
21 	W 	November 24, 1971 	2–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 	8–6–7
22 	T 	November 27, 1971 	3–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 	8–6–8
23 	L 	November 28, 1971 	1–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 	8–7–8
24 	W 	December 1, 1971 	4–2 	St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 	9–7–8
25 	L 	December 4, 1971 	3–5 	Boston Bruins (1971–72) 	9–8–8
26 	W 	December 8, 1971 	3–1 	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 	10–8–8
27 	L 	December 11, 1971 	1–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 	10–9–8
28 	W 	December 12, 1971 	4–2 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 	11–9–8
29 	W 	December 14, 1971 	4–2 	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 	12–9–8
30 	W 	December 15, 1971 	3–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 	13–9–8
31 	W 	December 18, 1971 	8–1 	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 	14–9–8
32 	W 	December 19, 1971 	4–0 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 	15–9–8
33 	L 	December 22, 1971 	2–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 	15–10–8
34 	W 	December 25, 1971 	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 	16–10–8
35 	L 	December 26, 1971 	1–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 	16–11–8
36 	W 	December 28, 1971 	4–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 	17–11–8
37 	L 	December 29, 1971 	3–6 	St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 	17–12–8
38 	W 	January 1, 1972 	5–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 	18–12–8
39 	L 	January 5, 1972 	0–2 	Boston Bruins (1971–72) 	18–13–8
40 	T 	January 8, 1972 	2–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 	18–13–9
41 	W 	January 9, 1972 	2–1 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 	19–13–9
42 	T 	January 12, 1972 	1–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 	19–13–10
43 	W 	January 15, 1972 	4–3 	New York Rangers (1971–72) 	20–13–10
44 	L 	January 16, 1972 	3–4 	St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 	20–14–10
45 	L 	January 19, 1972 	0–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 	20–15–10
46 	L 	January 22, 1972 	1–4 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 	20–16–10
47 	L 	January 23, 1972 	0–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 	20–17–10
48 	L 	January 26, 1972 	3–5 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 	20–18–10
49 	L 	January 28, 1972 	0–3 	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	20–19–10
50 	L 	January 29, 1972 	2–5 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 	20–20–10
51 	L 	February 1, 1972 	0–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 	20–21–10
52 	W 	February 2, 1972 	3–2 	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 	21–21–10
53 	L 	February 5, 1972 	1–3 	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 	21–22–10
54 	T 	February 6, 1972 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1971–72) 	21–22–11
55 	W 	February 8, 1972 	2–1 	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 	22–22–11
56 	L 	February 9, 1972 	1–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 	22–23–11
57 	W 	February 12, 1972 	3–0 	California Golden Seals (1971–72) 	23–23–11
58 	L 	February 13, 1972 	1–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 	23–24–11
59 	L 	February 16, 1972 	2–4 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 	23–25–11
60 	W 	February 19, 1972 	4–1 	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 	24–25–11
61 	L 	February 20, 1972 	1–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 	24–26–11
62 	L 	February 22, 1972 	4–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 	24–27–11
63 	W 	February 23, 1972 	2–0 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 	25–27–11
64 	W 	February 26, 1972 	7–1 	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 	26–27–11
65 	W 	March 1, 1972 	3–1 	@ St. Louis Blues(1971–72) 	27–27–11
66 	W 	March 4, 1972 	3–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 	28–27–11
67 	W 	March 8, 1972 	5–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 	29–27–11
68 	W 	March 11, 1972 	2–1 	California Golden Seals (1971–72) 	30–27–11
69 	T 	March 12, 1972 	2–2 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 	30–27–12
70 	L 	March 15, 1972 	2–5 	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 	30–28–12
71 	T 	March 18, 1972 	2–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 	30–28–13
72 	L 	March 19, 1972 	3–5 	@ New York Rangers (1971–72) 	30–29–13
73 	T 	March 22, 1972 	3–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 	30–29–14
74 	L 	March 24, 1972 	3–5 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 	30–30–14
75 	W 	March 25, 1972 	4–0 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 	31–30–14
76 	W 	March 29, 1972 	4–1 	Boston Bruins (1971–72) 	32–30–14
77 	W 	April 1, 1972 	2–1 	New York Rangers (1971–72) 	33–30–14
78 	L 	April 2, 1972 	4–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 	33–31–14
==Playoffs==
===Boston Bruins 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 1===
The Bruins and Leafs had last met in the 1969 Quarter-finals where the Bruins swept the series in four games. This series was much closer, with three games being decided by one goal. However, the Bruins prevailed in five games led by Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr who both had nine points.
Game 1 at the Boston Garden saw a scoreless first period. Phil Esposito opened the scoring at 17:24 of the second period, roofing a pass from Wayne Cashman over the shoulder of Jacques Plante. A little over two minutes later, Esposito scored his second off a rebound from a Bobby Orr wrap around. Completing a solo rush with a backhand shot, Don Marcotte made it 3-0 Boston at 3:47 of the third period. A beautiful Esposito pass to John McKenzie speeding up the right wing saw him flip it over Plante at 15:27. Right off the center ice faceoff, Fred Stanfield took a John Bucyk pass and fired a shot over Plante's shoulder eleven seconds after McKenzie's goal. Gerry Cheevers was stellar, earning a shutout, as the Bruins won 5-0.
Game 2 at Boston saw Bernie Parent start in goal for the Leafs. After Fred Stanfield and Phil Esposito put the Bruins up 2-0 in the first period, the Leafs countered with early second period goals by Dave Keon and Jim McKenny at 3:47. Less than a minute later, John Bucyk put the Bruins up 3-2, finishing off a great passing play from Stanfield and John McKenzie. At 9:42 of the third period, Dave Keon stripped Phil Esposito of the puck at the Leafs blueline and sent Guy Trottier in on a partial breakaway. Trottier scored with a low shot to Cheever's glove side to tie the game 3-3. Parent held the fort against many Boston chances, including poke checking the puck away from Bobby Orr as he broke in with ten seconds left in regulation. At 2:47 of overtime, Jim Harrison blasted a shot past Cheevers from just inside the Bruins blueline as Toronto took the game 4-3 and tied the series at one game each.
Game 3 at Maple Leaf Gardens saw Eddie Johnston replace Cheevers in net for Boston while Parent started again for Toronto. A real goaltender's battle ensued as the first period was scoreless, despite six power plays. Penalties caught up to the Leafs in the second period as with Darryl Sittler in the box, Mike Walton blasted a point shot past Parent at 18:38. Early in the third period, Guy Trottier took a tripping penalty. Parent tried to clear a bouncing puck but hit Ken Hodge. Wayne Cashman retrieved it and passed to Orr in the slot. His shot beat Parent low to the stick side to give the Bruins an insurance goal. Johnston stopped all 30 Leafs shots, earning a shutout as the Bruins prevailed 2-0.
Game 4 at Toronto saw Ed Johnston and Bernie Parent start in goal again. Persistence by Carol Vadnais in the Leafs zone resulting in the opening goal by John Bucyk at 16:36 of the first period. However, a little over a minute later, Dave Keon's wicked slapshot from the point tied the game. In the second period, the Leafs took advantage of special teams, first with Ron Ellis tapping in a feed from Paul Henderson on the power play. While killing a penalty, Jim McKenney stripped Wayne Cashman of the puck at the Leafs blueline and scored on a breakaway to make it 3-1 Toronto heading into the third period. Ken Hodge appeared to start a comeback when he scored at 1:15 until Henderson scored off an Ellis rebound at 4:50. After assisting on Hodge's goal, Orr then took over. While short handed, he poked the puck off Dave Keon's stick to Derek Sanderson who passed it to Ed Westfall speeding up the right wing. His shot flew by Parent's stick to cut the Leafs lead to 4-3. Less than two minutes later, Orr rushed into Toronto's zone and eventually found Phil Esposito in the slot. His one-timer went over Parent's shoulder to tie the game 4-4. The Bruins completed the comeback at 16:11 as after winning a faceoff in the Leafs zone, Esposito took advantage of a Mike Pelyk miscue and saw his pass go into off Hodge's skate for the 5-4 game winner.
Game 5 at Boston saw Cheevers in goal for Boston while Parent remained in net for Toronto. Jim McKenney opened the scoring with his third of the series at 11:12 of the first period on the power play. On their own power play at 15:42, Fred Stanfield fired a low point shot past Parent, who was playing with a broken stick. At 5:18 of the second period, John McKenzie one-timed a beautiful John Bucyk centering pass to make it 2-1 Bruins. Parent held the Leafs in the game in the third period until Norm Ullman took advantage of Phil Esposito losing the puck by the Bruins net and roofed a shot at 6:09 to tie the game 2-2. Determined to make up for his mistake, less than two minutes later, Esposito took a Wayne Cashman pass in front of the Leafs net, slid a pass to Ken Hodge who whacked it past Parent's stick to make it 3-2 as Boston took the series in five games.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record
1	April 5 	Toronto Maple Leafs	0-5 	Boston Bruins 	0-1
2	April 6 	Toronto Maple Leafs	4-3 (OT)	Boston Bruins 	1-1
3	April 8 	Boston Bruins 	2-0 	Toronto Maple Leafs	2-1
4	April 9 	Boston Bruins 	5-4 	Toronto Maple Leafs	3-1
5	April 11	Toronto Maple Leafs	2-3 	Boston Bruins 	1-4
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	77	23	50	73 	26 	8 	9 	0 	1
 	73	38	19	57 	32 	14 	12 	1 	5
 	72	18	30	48 	4 	1 	2 	2 	5
 	78	23	24	47 	17 	7 	4 	0 	7
 	66	19	17	36 	104	-4 	5 	0 	0
 	76	5 	31	36 	27 	1 	2 	0 	0
 	74	15	17	32 	44 	-4 	1 	0 	4
 	78	14	17	31 	47 	2 	2 	1 	2
 	50	4 	19	23 	56 	10 	1 	0 	2
 	52	9 	12	21 	16 	-12	2 	0 	1
 	72	4 	17	21 	58 	7 	2 	0 	1
 	61	10	7 	17 	39 	-1 	2 	0 	2
 	77	7 	10	17 	4 	5 	1 	0 	0
 	38	8 	8 	16 	4 	-1 	2 	0 	0
 	50	2 	14	16 	0 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	67	1 	14	15 	124	3 	0 	0 	0
 	74	2 	12	14 	101	8 	0 	0 	0
 	61	2 	8 	10 	44 	11 	0 	0 	1
 	18	3 	4 	7 	13 	-3 	0 	0 	1
 	36	1 	5 	6 	65 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	46	1 	4 	5 	44 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	47	0 	1 	1 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	34	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	2715	47	17	18	9 	116	2.56	3
 	1965	34	16	13	5 	86 	2.63	2
Team: 	4680	78	33	31	14	202	2.59	5
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	5 	2	3	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	1	3	4 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	3	0	3 	2 	2 	1 	0
 	5 	1	2	3 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	1	1	2 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	5 	1	0	1 	10 	0 	0 	1
 	4 	1	0	1 	16 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	1	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	2 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	25 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	5 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	243	4 	1	3	13	3.21	0
 	60 	1 	0	1	5 	5.00	0
Team: 	303	5 	1	4	18	3.56	0
==Awards and Records==
*The Maple Leafs did not win any awards this season.
==Transactions==
The Maple Leafs were involved in the following transactions during the 1971-72 season.
===Trades===
August 20, 1971 	To Detroit Red WingsBrian Conacher	To Toronto Maple LeafsCash
August 30, 1971 	To Montreal CanadiensCash 	To Toronto Maple LeafsTerry Clancy
September 27, 1971	To Vancouver CanucksDoug Brindley 	To Toronto Maple LeafsAndre Hinse
February 20, 1972 	To New York RangersJim Dorey 	To Toronto Maple LeafsPierre Jarry
===Intra-League Draft===
June 5, 1972	From Montreal CanadiensLarry Pleau
June 5, 1972	To Montreal CanadiensBrad Selwood
June 5, 1972	To Vancouver CanucksGerry O'Flaherty
===Expansion Draft===
June 6, 1972	To Atlanta FlamesBilly MacMillan
June 6, 1972	To New York IslandersBrian Marchinko
June 6, 1972	To New York IslandersBrian Spencer
===Reverse Draft===
June 8, 1972	To California Golden SealsMarv Edwards
===Free Agents===
{|class="wikitable"	
Player 	Former Team
Lyle Moffat 	Undrafted Free Agent
Joe Lundrigan	Undrafted Free Agent
Gord McRae 	Undrafted Free Agent
==Gallery==
71-72NHLTorontoOpenerGameAd.jpg|Home Opener
Green last goal-2May1972.gif|Ted Green scores his last goal with Boston, April 2, 1972.
==Video==
Brief highlights of the 1972 Rangers-Canadiens Quarter-finals, Rangers-Black Hawks Semi-finals, Bruins-Leafs Quarter-finals and Bruins-Blues Semi-finals before highlights of all six games of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals.
Stanley Cup 1972
==See Also==
*1971–72 NHL season
==References==
* 
category:Toronto Maple Leafs seasons
Category:1971 in hockey
Category:1972 in hockey