The 1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 69th season of the franchise and its 59th season as the Maple Leafs. Despite posting the third-worst record in the league, the Leafs qualified for the playoff after a two year absence, securing the last playoff spot in a very weak Norris Division. The division champion Chicago Black Hawks, whom they had little trouble against, winning six times out of eight regular season games between them, only recorded 86 points. The Leafs' .356 winning percentage is the fourth-worst in franchise history and one of the worst ever for a playoff qualifier.
Despite this, the Leafs swept the Hawks, who they defeated six times out of eight in the regular season, in three games in the Norris Semi-finals for a total of nine times out of 11 before being eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in a seven-game Norris Final.
Offseason
NHL draft
Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team11 Wendel Clark (LW) Saskatoon Blades (WHL) 2 22 Ken Spangler (D) Calgary Wranglers (WHL) 3 43 Dave Thomlinson (LW) Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)464Greg Vey (LW)Peterborough Petes (OHL)585Jeff Serowik (D)Lawrence Academy (USHS-MA)6106Jiri Latal (D)Dukla Trenčín (Czechoslovakia)7127Tim Bean (LW)North Bay Centennials (OHL)8148Andy Donahue (C)Belmont Hill School (USHS-MA)9169Todd Whittemore (C)Kent School (USHS-CT)10190Bobby Reynolds (LW)St. Clair Shores Falcons (NAHL)11211Tim Armstrong (C)Toronto Marlboros (OHL)12232Mitch Murphy (G)St. Paul's School (USHS-NH)
Regular season
Final standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
|1||L||October 10, 1985||1–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) ||0–1–0
|2||L||October 12, 1985||0–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) ||0–2–0
|3||W||October 13, 1985||5–1 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||1–2–0
|4||L||October 16, 1985||5–6 OT|| align="left"| Washington Capitals (1985–86) ||1–3–0
|5||L||October 19, 1985||3–4 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) ||1–4–0
|6||L||October 23, 1985||4–5 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) ||1–5–0
|7||L||October 24, 1985||4–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) ||1–6–0
|8||L||October 26, 1985||5–7 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||1–7–0
|9||L||October 30, 1985||3–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) ||1–8–0
|10||L||November 2, 1985||2–4 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) ||1–9–0
|11||L||November 3, 1985||1–7 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) ||1–10–0
|12||L||November 6, 1985||4–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1985–86) ||1–11–0
|13||T||November 8, 1985||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||1–11–1
|14||T||November 9, 1985||2–2 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||1–11–2
|15||L||November 12, 1985||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||1–12–2
|16||T||November 14, 1985||6–6 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (1985–86) ||1–12–3
|17||W||November 16, 1985||6–4 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||2–12–3
|18||W||November 17, 1985||5–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) ||3–12–3
|19||L||November 20, 1985||3–7 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1985–86) ||3–13–3
|20||W||November 23, 1985||9–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||4–13–3
|21||L||November 26, 1985||1–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||4–14–3
|22||L||November 27, 1985||1–7 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) ||4–15–3
|23||W||November 30, 1985||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) ||5–15–3
|24||W||December 4, 1985||10–7 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1985–86) ||6–15–3
|25||W||December 5, 1985||6–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) ||7–15–3
|26||L||December 7, 1985||3–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) ||7–16–3
|27||L||December 10, 1985||2–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) ||7–17–3
|28||W||December 11, 1985||6–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||8–17–3
|29||T||December 14, 1985||6–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||8–17–4
|30||T||December 15, 1985||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) ||8–17–5
|31||L||December 18, 1985||3–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) ||8–18–5
|32||L||December 20, 1985||3–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) ||8–19–5
|33||W||December 26, 1985||5–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||9–19–5
|34||L||December 28, 1985||3–6 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1985–86) ||9–20–5
|35||W||January 1, 1986||3–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) ||10–20–5
|36||L||January 4, 1986||4–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) ||10–21–5
|37||L||January 5, 1986||5–6 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||10–22–5
|38||W||January 8, 1986||11–9 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) ||11–22–5
|39||L||January 10, 1986||7–9 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) ||11–23–5
|40||L||January 11, 1986||1–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) ||11–24–5
|41||W||January 13, 1986||7–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||12–24–5
|42||L||January 15, 1986||1–10 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||12–25–5
|43||L||January 18, 1986||2–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||12–26–5
|44||L||January 19, 1986||5–9 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1985–86) ||12–27–5
|45||L||January 22, 1986||2–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1985–86) ||12–28–5
|46||L||January 23, 1986||1–4 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) ||12–29–5
|47||L||January 25, 1986||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) ||12–30–5
|48||L||January 28, 1986||2–9 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1985–86) ||12–31–5
|49||W||January 29, 1986||5–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1985–86) ||13–31–5
|50||L||February 1, 1986||4–7 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||13–32–5
|51||W||February 2, 1986||4–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||14–32–5
|52||L||February 6, 1986||7–8 OT|| align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||14–33–5
|53||W||February 8, 1986||3–2 OT|| align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||15–33–5
|54||L||February 11, 1986||2–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||15–34–5
|55||L||February 13, 1986||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||15–35–5
|56||W||February 15, 1986||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||16–35–5
|57||T||February 16, 1986||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) ||16–35–6
|58||L||February 19, 1986||5–9 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) ||16–36–6
|59||W||February 20, 1986||7–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) ||17–36–6
|60||L||February 23, 1986||3–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||17–37–6
|61||W||February 25, 1986||7–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1985–86) ||18–37–6
|62||W||February 28, 1986||7–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||19–37–6
|63||L||March 1, 1986||4–6 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||19–38–6
|64||W||March 3, 1986||6–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) ||20–38–6
|65||L||March 5, 1986||3–5 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||20–39–6
|66||L||March 6, 1986||4–7 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) ||20–40–6
|67||W||March 8, 1986||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||21–40–6
|68||W||March 13, 1986||7–4 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) ||22–40–6
|69||L||March 15, 1986||5–6 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) ||22–41–6
|70||W||March 17, 1986||7–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) ||23–41–6
|71||L||March 19, 1986||2–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) ||23–42–6
|72||L||March 20, 1986||1–7 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1985–86) ||23–43–6
|73||L||March 22, 1986||3–6 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1985–86) ||23–44–6
|74||L||March 26, 1986||1–6 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) ||23–45–6
|75||W||March 29, 1986||4–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||24–45–6
|76||W||March 30, 1986||5–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) ||25–45–6
|77||T||April 1, 1986||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) ||25–45–7
|78||L||April 3, 1986||2–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) ||25–46–7
|79||L||April 5, 1986||1–7 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) ||25–47–7
|80||L||April 6, 1986||2–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) ||25–48–7
Legend:
Player statistics
Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG RW 73 32 43 75 74-24703 C 78 31 42 73 64-24323 RW 61 33 31 64 85-191201 RW 73 22 38 60 520314 LW 65 20 37 57 36-15505 RW 70 23 30 53 21-6700 LW/D 66 34 11 45 227-27403 C 63 18 27 45 16-9501 LW 33 12 22 34 256501 D 65 8 25 33 40-10202 LW 76 10 22 32 31-5021 RW 53 9 23 32 20-1110 D 52 8 18 26 108-27400 C 40 13 12 25 12-5200 D 52 4 21 25 71-4200 D 41 7 15 22 48-7311 RW 42 5 17 22 84-8000 C 80 7 13 20 88-21100 D 79 2 16 18 180-32000 D 61 6 11 17 83-5000 LW 15 1 6 7 0-11000 LW 21 2 4 6 27-6100 D 61 1 4 5 141-17000 D 15 1 2 3 280000 LW 5 1 2 3 23000 C 2 1 0 1 2-1000 G 23 0 1 1 00000 C 2 0 1 1 00000 D 6 0 1 1 4-3000 D 27 0 1 1 29-8000 D 27 0 1 1 21-4000 G 1 0 0 0 00000 LW 21 0 0 0 670000 C 1 0 0 0 00000 G 38 0 0 0 40000 LW 6 0 0 0 0-2000 G 30 0 0 0 160000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SOSASVSV% 2009 38 12 23 0 160 4.78 01140980.860 1566 30 9 13 4 113 4.33 0901788.875 1266 23 4 12 3 107 5.07 0727620.853 20 1 0 0 0 2 6.00 053.600 Team: 4861 80 25 48 7 382 4.72 027732391.862
Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG LW 10 6 8 14 9300 C 10 5 7 12 6301 RW 10 2 10 12 2000 RW 10 3 6 9 8100 RW 9 6 2 8 9300 D 10 1 6 7 14000 LW/D 10 5 1 6 47101 LW 9 4 1 5 4003 C 10 2 3 5 12001 C 10 2 2 4 19000 RW 10 1 3 4 10000 RW 6 2 1 3 20100 D 10 0 3 3 4000 LW 10 0 3 3 17000 D 10 0 2 2 25000 D 7 0 2 2 13000 D 10 1 0 1 14000 D 3 0 1 1 12000 D 1 0 0 0 0000 D 9 0 0 0 35000 RW 3 0 0 0 0000 G 10 0 0 0 4000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SOSASVSV% 607 10 6 4 32 3.16 1323291.901 Team: 607 10 6 4 32 3.16 1323291.901
Playoffs
Norris Division semi-finals Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Black Hawks Date Away Score Home Score NotesApril 9 Toronto 5 Chicago 3April 10 Toronto 6 Chicago 4April 12 Chicago 2 Toronto 7 Toronto wins best-of-five series 3–0
Norris Division Finals Toronto Maple Leafs vs. St. Louis Blues Date Away Score Home Score NotesApril 18 Toronto 1 St. Louis 6 April 20 Toronto 3 St. Louis 0April 22 St. Louis 2 Toronto 5April 24 St. Louis 7 Toronto 4April 26 Toronto 3 St. Louis 4 (OT)April 28 St. Louis 3 Toronto 5April 30 Toronto 1 St. Louis 2 St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4–3
Awards and records Wendel Clark, NHL All-Rookie Team Wendel Clark, Runner-up for the Calder Trophy Ken Wregget, Molson Cup (Most game star selections for Toronto Maple Leafs)
Transactions The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1985–86 season.
Trades August 21, 1985To Quebec NordiquesJohn AndersonTo Toronto Maple LeafsBrad Maxwell September 18, 1985To Philadelphia FlyersDom CampedelliTo Toronto Maple Leafs2nd round pick in 1986 – Darryl Shannon 4th round pick in 1986 – Ken Hulst October 7, 1985To Hartford WhalersStewart GavinTo Toronto Maple LeafsChris Kotsopoulos October 11, 1985To Boston BruinsBill DerlagoTo Toronto Maple LeafsTom Fergus
Free agents Player Former team Brad Smith Detroit Red Wings Blake Wesley Quebec Nordiques Gary MacAdam New Jersey Devils Marian Stastny Quebec Nordiques Rod Schutt Pittsburgh Penguins Val James Buffalo Sabres Chris McRae Undrafted Free Agent Player New team Basil McRae Detroit Red Wings Lee Norwood St. Louis Blues Dave Farrish Philadelphia Flyers Jeff Brubaker Edmonton Oilers
Farm teams The Maple Leafs were affiliated with the St. Catharines Saints of the AHL.
References Maple Leafs on Hockey Database