2020–21 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 2020–21 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 104th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on November 22, 1917. Due to the Canada–U.S. border restrictions brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maple Leafs were re-aligned with the other six Canadian franchises into the newly-formed North Division. The league's 56 game season was played entirely within the new divisions, meaning that Toronto and the other Canadian teams played an all-Canadian schedule for the 2020–21 regular season as well as the first two rounds  of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The team saw tremendous success during the course of the regular season, clinching a playoff birth on April 28 after a 4–1 win against the Montreal Canadiens, one of the first teams in the league to do so. Then on May 8, again versus Montreal, they clinched the North Division with a 3–2 win, which was their first division championship since 2000. Auston Matthews recorded a league high 41 goals, becoming the first player in team history to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, and was also named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay  Award, given to the league's most outstanding player as voted on by players. Additionally, Mitch Marner and Matthews both finished top five in league scoring (placing fourth and fifth, respectively). The team however disappointed in the playoffs; after going up 3–1 in their First Round series against the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto was defeated in seven games. It was the fifth consecutive year that the Maple Leafs lost in the opening round of the postseason and the fourth consecutive year they were eliminated in the final, winner-take-all game. Player statistics. Goaltenders. Player currently playing for the minor league  affiliate Toronto Marlies of the AHL Bold/italics denotes franchise record. Transactions. The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season. Draft picks. Below are the Toronto Maple Leafs' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Leafs held on to three of their own seven picks (rounds  4, 5, 6). In June 2019 they had traded way their first and seventh round picks along with Patrick Marleau to the Carolina Hurricanes mainly to clear cap space. On draft day they exchanged their second round pick for two lower picks from the Ottawa Senators. Their third round pick went to the Colorado Avalanche in July 2019 in the Nazem Kadri for Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot trade. They acquired an additional nine picks this year through various trades. Notes: