1940–41 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1940–41 Toronto Maple Leafs
1940–41 Toronto Maple Leafs
League	2nd NHL
1940–41 record	28–14–6
Home record	16–5–3
Road record	12–9–3
Goals for	145
Goals against	99
Team information
General manager	Conn Smythe
Coach	Hap Day
Captain	Syl Apps
Arena	Maple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
Goals	Gordie Drillon (23)
Assists	Syl Apps (24)
Points	Gordie Drillon (44); Syl Apps (44)
Penalty minutes	Reg Hamilton (59)
Wins	Turk Broda (28)
Goals against average	Turk Broda (2.00)
	← 1939–40 1941–42 →

The 1940–41 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the Toronto franchise's 24th season of play.

Offseason

Conn Smythe was making preparations for his eventual tour of duty in Europe. He felt that Dick Irvin would not be strong enough to deal with player issues while he was gone and Smythe convinced the Montreal Canadiens to hire Irvin.^[1] Smythe hired Hap Day as coach.

Regular season

Final standings

National Hockey League
	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Boston Bruins	48	27	8	13	67	168	102
Toronto Maple Leafs	48	28	14	6	62	145	99
Detroit Red Wings	48	21	16	11	53	112	102
New York Rangers	48	21	19	8	50	143	125
Chicago Black Hawks	48	16	25	7	39	112	139
Montreal Canadiens	48	16	26	6	38	121	147
New York Americans	48	8	29	11	27	99	186

^[2]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

1940–41 NHL Records ^[3]
Team	BOS	CHI	DET	MTL	NYA	NYR	TOR
Boston	—	4–2–2	3–0–5	5–2–1	7–0–1	4–2–2	4–2–2
Chicago	2–4–2	—	2–6	3–4–1	3–2–3	4–3–1	2–6
Detroit	0–3–5	6–2	—	4–3–1	5–1–2	3–2–3	3–5
Montreal	2–5–1	4–3–1	3–4–1	—	4–3–1	2–5–1	1–6–1
N.Y. Americans	0–7–1	2–3–3	1–5–2	3–4–1	—	1–6–1	1–4–3
N.Y. Rangers	2–4–2	3–4–1	2–3–2	5–2–1	6–1–1	—	3–5
Toronto	2–4–2	6–2	5–3	6–1–1	4–1–3	5–3	—

Schedule and results

1940–41 regular season^[4]

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	November 2, 1940	1–4	New York Rangers (1940–41)	0–1–0
2	W	November 9, 1940	3–0	Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	1–1–0
3	W	November 14, 1940	6–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	2–1–0
4	W	November 16, 1940	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	3–1–0
5	W	November 17, 1940	4–1	@ Boston Bruins (1940–41)	4–1–0
6	W	November 21, 1940	2–1 OT	@ New York Americans (1940–41)	5–1–0
7	L	November 23, 1940	0–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	5–2–0
8	W	November 24, 1940	4–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	6–2–0
9	W	November 26, 1940	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1940–41)	7–2–0
10	W	November 30, 1940	6–1	New York Americans (1940–41)	8–2–0

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
11	W	December 1, 1940	3–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	9–2–0
12	W	December 7, 1940	3–2	Boston Bruins (1940–41)	10–2–0
13	W	December 12, 1940	4–3	Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	11–2–0
14	W	December 14, 1940	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	12–2–0
15	W	December 15, 1940	4–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	13–2–0
16	L	December 17, 1940	2–5	@ Boston Bruins (1940–41)	13–3–0
17	T	December 21, 1940	2–2 OT	New York Americans (1940–41)	13–3–1
18	L	December 22, 1940	1–2	@ New York Americans (1940–41)	13–4–1
19	L	December 25, 1940	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	13–5–1
20	W	December 28, 1940	3–2	New York Rangers (1940–41)	14–5–1
21	L	December 29, 1940	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1940–41)	14–6–1

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
22	L	January 4, 1941	1–3	Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	14–7–1
23	W	January 7, 1941	4–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	15–7–1
24	W	January 9, 1941	3–2 OT	New York Rangers (1940–41)	16–7–1
25	W	January 11, 1941	9–0	New York Americans (1940–41)	17–7–1
26	L	January 18, 1941	0–1	Boston Bruins (1940–41)	17–8–1
27	T	January 19, 1941	3–3 OT	@ New York Americans (1940–41)	17–8–2
28	W	January 23, 1941	3–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	18–8–2
29	T	January 25, 1941	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	18–8–3
30	W	January 26, 1941	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	19–8–3
31	W	January 30, 1941	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	20–8–3

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
32	W	February 1, 1941	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	21–8–3
33	L	February 2, 1941	1–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	21–9–3
34	L	February 8, 1941	2–3	Boston Bruins (1940–41)	21–10–3
35	W	February 15, 1941	4–3	New York Rangers (1940–41)	22–10–3
36	W	February 16, 1941	4–1	@ New York Rangers (1940–41)	23–10–3
37	T	February 18, 1941	2–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1940–41)	23–10–4
38	W	February 20, 1941	2–1	Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	24–10–4
39	W	February 22, 1941	6–2	Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	25–10–4
40	L	February 23, 1941	0–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1940–41)	25–11–4
41	T	February 25, 1941	4–4 OT	@ New York Americans (1940–41)	25–11–5

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
42	T	March 1, 1941	0–0 OT	Boston Bruins (1940–41)	25–11–6
43	L	March 6, 1941	3–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1940–41)	25–12–6
44	W	March 8, 1941	6–1	New York Americans (1940–41)	26–12–6
45	L	March 9, 1941	5–8	@ New York Rangers (1940–41)	26–13–6
46	L	March 11, 1941	2–3	@ Boston Bruins (1940–41)	26–14–6
47	W	March 15, 1941	7–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	27–14–6
48	W	March 16, 1941	3–0	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1940–41)	28–14–6

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

The Maple Leafs took on the first-place Boston Bruins in the semifinals. Boston would win the series four games to three. The Bruins would go on to win the Stanley Cup versus Detroit in four games.

1941 Stanley Cup playoffs^[4]

Semifinals vs. (1) Boston Bruins – Bruins win 4–3

Game	Date	Home	Home goals	Visitor	Visitor goals	OT
1	March 20	Boston Bruins	3	Toronto Maple Leafs	0
2	March 22	Boston Bruins	3	Toronto Maple Leafs	5
3	March 25	Toronto Maple Leafs	7	Boston Bruins	2
4	March 27	Toronto Maple Leafs	1	Boston Bruins	2
5	March 29	Boston Bruins	1	Toronto Maple Leafs	2	(OT)
6	April 1	Toronto Maple Leafs	1	Boston Bruins	2
7	April 3	Boston Bruins	2	Toronto Maple Leafs	1

Legend: Win Loss

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Gordie Drillon	RW	42	23	21	44	2
Syl Apps	C	41	20	24	44	6
Sweeney Schriner	LW	48	24	14	38	6
Nick Metz	LW	47	14	21	35	10
Billy Taylor	C	47	9	26	35	15
Wally Stanowski	D	47	7	14	21	35
Pete Langelle	C	47	4	15	19	0
Bucko McDonald	D	31	6	11	17	12
Hank Goldup	LW	26	10	5	15	9
Reg Hamilton	D	45	3	12	15	59
Red Heron	C	35	9	5	14	12
Don Metz	RW	31	4	10	14	6
Gus Marker	RW	27	4	5	9	10
Bob Davidson	LW	37	3	6	9	39
Bingo Kampman	D	39	1	4	5	53
Lex Chisholm	C/RW	26	4	0	4	8
Norman Mann	RW/C	15	0	3	3	2
Jack Church	D	11	0	1	1	22
Turk Broda	G	48	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Turk Broda	2970	48	28	14	6	99	2.00	5
Team:	2970	48	28	14	6	99	2.00	5

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Nick Metz	LW	7	3	4	7	0
Syl Apps	C	7	3	2	5	2
Gordie Drillon	RW	7	3	2	5	2
Sweeney Schriner	LW	7	2	1	3	4
Reg Hamilton	D	7	1	2	3	13
Wally Stanowski	D	7	0	3	3	2
Billy Taylor	C	7	0	3	3	5
Bucko McDonald	D	7	2	0	2	2
Pete Langelle	C	7	1	1	2	0
Don Metz	RW	7	1	1	2	2
Bob Davidson	LW	7	0	2	2	7
Red Heron	C	7	0	2	2	0
Lex Chisholm	C/RW	3	1	0	1	0
Turk Broda	G	7	0	0	0	0
Jack Church	D	5	0	0	0	8
Hank Goldup	LW	7	0	0	0	0
Bingo Kampman	D	7	0	0	0	0
Norman Mann	RW/C	1	0	0	0	0
Gus Marker	RW	7	0	0	0	5

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Turk Broda	438	7	3	4	15	2.05	0
Team:	438	7	3	4	15	2.05	0

^[5]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

May 10, 1940: Traded Murph Chamberlain to the Montreal Canadiens for $7,500
May 10, 1940: Traded Pep Kelly to the Chicago Black Hawks for cash
June 7, 1940: Acquired Frank Eddolls from the Montreal Canadiens for Joe Benoit
July 1, 1940: Acquired Chuck Shannon from the New York Americans for cash
October 20, 1940: Traded Chuck Shannon to the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL for cash
October 22, 1940: Traded Phil Stein to the New Haven Eagles of the AHL for cash
October 31, 1940: Signed Free Agent Nick Knott
January 17, 1941: Acquired Jack Howard and Loan of Peanuts O'Flaherty from the New York Americans for Clarence Drouillard

References

Smythe, Conn; Young, Scott (1981). Conn Smythe: If you can't beat 'em in the alley. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-9078-1.

^ Smythe, p. 143
^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "1940-41 Toronto Maple Leafs Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
^ "1940-41 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.

[1] Smythe, p. 143

[2] Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.

[3] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-4] "1940-41 Toronto Maple Leafs Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 5, 2025.

[5] "1940-41 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Toronto Maple Leafs
Founded in 1917 Based in Toronto, Ontario
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season
History	History Toronto Arenas Toronto St. Patricks Original Six Award winners Records Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Larry Tanenbaum, chairman) General manager Brad Treliving Head coach Craig Berube Team captain Auston Matthews Current roster
Arenas	Arena Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens Scotiabank Arena
Rivalries	Boston Bruins Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators
Affiliates	AHL Toronto Marlies ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones
Media	TV Sportsnet Ontario TSN4 Radio Sportsnet 590 The Fan TSN Radio 1050 Choq FM 105,1
Culture and lore	2014 Winter Classic Centennial Classic 2018 Stadium Series 2022 Heritage Classic Carlton the Bear In popular culture Face-Off "Fifty Mission Cap" Hockey Knights in Canada The Hockey Sweater The Love Guru J. P. Bickell Memorial Award Maple Leaf Square Ford Performance Centre The Kid Line Toronto Blueshirts Leafs Nation Network
Category Commons

v t e Toronto Maple Leafs seasons
1910s	1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e 1940–41 NHL season
Teams	Boston Chicago Detroit Montreal NY Americans NY Rangers Toronto
See also	Stanley Cup Finals Transactions