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1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs season

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1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division4th Norris
Conference8th Campbell
1985–86 record25–48–7
Home record16–21–3
Road record9–27–4
Goals for311
Goals against386
Team information
General managerGerry McNamara
CoachDan Maloney
CaptainRick Vaive
Alternate captainsBorje Salming
Brad Maxwell
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsWendel Clark (34)
AssistsMiroslav Frycer (43)
PointsMiroslav Frycer (75)
Penalty minutesWendel Clark (227)
WinsDon Edwards (12)
Goals against averageKen Wregget (4.34)

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 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.[1][2] The Leafs' .356 winning percentage is the fourth-worst in franchise history and one of the worst ever for a playoff qualifier.[3][4][5]

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[1][2][6][7][8][9][10] before being eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in a seven-game Norris Final.[11][12]

Offseason

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NHL Draft

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See also: 1985 NHL Entry Draft
Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 1 Wendel Clark (LW)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
2 22 Ken Spangler (D)  Canada Calgary Wranglers (WHL)
3 43 Dave Thomlinson (LW)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4 64 Greg Vey (LW)  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
5 85 Jeff Serowik (D)  United States Lawrence Academy (USHS-MA)
6 106 Jiri Latal (D)  Czechoslovakia Dukla Trenčín (Czechoslovakia)
7 127 Tim Bean (LW)  Canada North Bay Centennials (OHL)
8 148 Andy Donahue (C)  United States Belmont Hill School (USHS-MA)
9 169 Todd Whittemore (C)  United States Kent School (USHS-CT)
10 190 Bobby Reynolds (LW)  United States St. Clair Shores Falcons (NAHL)
11 211 Tim Armstrong (C)  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHL)
12 232 Mitch Murphy (G)  Canada St. Paul's School (USHS-NH)

Regular season

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Final standings

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Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Chicago Black Hawks 80 39 33 8 351 349 86
Minnesota North Stars 80 38 33 9 327 305 85
St. Louis Blues 80 37 34 9 302 291 83
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 25 48 7 311 386 57
Detroit Red Wings 80 17 57 6 266 415 40

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

Record vs. opponents

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Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

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1985–86 regular season[15]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 10, 1985 1–3 @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) 0–1–0
2 L October 12, 1985 0–4 Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 0–2–0
3 W October 13, 1985 5–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 1–2–0
4 L October 16, 1985 5–6 OT Washington Capitals (1985–86) 1–3–0
5 L October 19, 1985 3–4 Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 1–4–0
6 L October 23, 1985 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 1–5–0
7 L October 24, 1985 4–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 1–6–0
8 L October 26, 1985 5–7 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 1–7–0
9 L October 30, 1985 3–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) 1–8–0
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
10 L November 2, 1985 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 1–9–0
11 L November 3, 1985 1–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 1–10–0
12 L November 6, 1985 4–5 New York Islanders (1985–86) 1–11–0
13 T November 8, 1985 3–3 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 1–11–1
14 T November 9, 1985 2–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 1–11–2
15 L November 12, 1985 3–4 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 1–12–2
16 T November 14, 1985 6–6 OT Boston Bruins (1985–86) 1–12–3
17 W November 16, 1985 6–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 2–12–3
18 W November 17, 1985 5–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 3–12–3
19 L November 20, 1985 3–7 @ New York Rangers (1985–86) 3–13–3
20 W November 23, 1985 9–3 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 4–13–3
21 L November 26, 1985 1–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 4–14–3
22 L November 27, 1985 1–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 4–15–3
23 W November 30, 1985 3–2 OT Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 5–15–3
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
24 W December 4, 1985 10–7 New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 6–15–3
25 W December 5, 1985 6–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 7–15–3
26 L December 7, 1985 3–6 Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 7–16–3
27 L December 10, 1985 2–3 @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) 7–17–3
28 W December 11, 1985 6–4 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 8–17–3
29 T December 14, 1985 6–6 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 8–17–4
30 T December 15, 1985 3–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 8–17–5
31 L December 18, 1985 3–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 8–18–5
32 L December 20, 1985 3–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) 8–19–5
33 W December 26, 1985 5–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 9–19–5
34 L December 28, 1985 3–6 Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 9–20–5
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
35 W January 1, 1986 3–2 Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 10–20–5
36 L January 4, 1986 4–6 Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 10–21–5
37 L January 5, 1986 5–6 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 10–22–5
38 W January 8, 1986 11–9 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 11–22–5
39 L January 10, 1986 7–9 @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 11–23–5
40 L January 11, 1986 1–5 Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 11–24–5
41 W January 13, 1986 7–4 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 12–24–5
42 L January 15, 1986 1–10 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 12–25–5
43 L January 18, 1986 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 12–26–5
44 L January 19, 1986 5–9 Calgary Flames (1985–86) 12–27–5
45 L January 22, 1986 2–4 New York Rangers (1985–86) 12–28–5
46 L January 23, 1986 1–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 12–29–5
47 L January 25, 1986 2–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 12–30–5
48 L January 28, 1986 2–9 @ New York Islanders (1985–86) 12–31–5
49 W January 29, 1986 5–2 Washington Capitals (1985–86) 13–31–5
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
50 L February 1, 1986 4–7 Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 13–32–5
51 W February 2, 1986 4–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 14–32–5
52 L February 6, 1986 7–8 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 14–33–5
53 W February 8, 1986 3–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 15–33–5
54 L February 11, 1986 2–4 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 15–34–5
55 L February 13, 1986 4–5 OT @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 15–35–5
56 W February 15, 1986 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 16–35–5
57 T February 16, 1986 4–4 OT Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) 16–35–6
58 L February 19, 1986 5–9 @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 16–36–6
59 W February 20, 1986 7–6 OT @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 17–36–6
60 L February 23, 1986 3–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 17–37–6
61 W February 25, 1986 7–3 New York Rangers (1985–86) 18–37–6
62 W February 28, 1986 7–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 19–37–6
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
63 L March 1, 1986 4–6 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 19–38–6
64 W March 3, 1986 6–1 Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 20–38–6
65 L March 5, 1986 3–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 20–39–6
66 L March 6, 1986 4–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 20–40–6
67 W March 8, 1986 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 21–40–6
68 W March 13, 1986 7–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 22–40–6
69 L March 15, 1986 5–6 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 22–41–6
70 W March 17, 1986 7–6 Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 23–41–6
71 L March 19, 1986 2–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 23–42–6
72 L March 20, 1986 1–7 New York Islanders (1985–86) 23–43–6
73 L March 22, 1986 3–6 New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 23–44–6
74 L March 26, 1986 1–6 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 23–45–6
75 W March 29, 1986 4–1 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 24–45–6
76 W March 30, 1986 5–4 OT @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 25–45–6
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
77 T April 1, 1986 2–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 25–45–7
78 L April 3, 1986 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) 25–46–7
79 L April 5, 1986 1–7 @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 25–47–7
80 L April 6, 1986 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 25–48–7

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

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Miroslav Frycer RW 73 32 43 75 74 -24 7 0 3
Tom Fergus C 78 31 42 73 64 -24 3 2 3
Rick Vaive RW 61 33 31 64 85 -19 12 0 1
Russ Courtnall RW 73 22 38 60 52 0 3 1 4
Steve Thomas LW 65 20 37 57 36 -15 5 0 5
Marian Stastny RW 70 23 30 53 21 -6 7 0 0
Wendel Clark LW/D 66 34 11 45 227 -27 4 0 3
Peter Ihnacak C 63 18 27 45 16 -9 5 0 1
Walt Poddubny LW 33 12 22 34 25 6 5 0 1
Al Iafrate D 65 8 25 33 40 -10 2 0 2
Greg Terrion LW 76 10 22 32 31 -5 0 2 1
Gary Leeman RW 53 9 23 32 20 -1 1 1 0
Brad Maxwell D 52 8 18 26 108 -27 4 0 0
Dan Hodgson C 40 13 12 25 12 -5 2 0 0
Jim Benning D 52 4 21 25 71 -4 2 0 0
Borje Salming D 41 7 15 22 48 -7 3 1 1
Brad Smith RW 42 5 17 22 84 -8 0 0 0
Dan Daoust C 80 7 13 20 88 -21 1 0 0
Gary Nylund D 79 2 16 18 180 -32 0 0 0
Chris Kotsopoulos D 61 6 11 17 83 -5 0 0 0
Gary McAdam LW 15 1 6 7 0 -11 0 0 0
Miroslav Ihnacak LW 21 2 4 6 27 -6 1 0 0
Bob McGill D 61 1 4 5 141 -17 0 0 0
Todd Gill D 15 1 2 3 28 0 0 0 0
Jeff Jackson LW 5 1 2 3 2 3 0 0 0
Wes Jarvis C 2 1 0 1 2 -1 0 0 0
Tim Bernhardt G 23 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Rich Costello C 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Craig Muni D 6 0 1 1 4 -3 0 0 0
Bill Root D 27 0 1 1 29 -8 0 0 0
Blake Wesley D 27 0 1 1 21 -4 0 0 0
Allan Bester G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeff Brubaker LW 21 0 0 0 67 0 0 0 0
Bill Derlago C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Don Edwards G 38 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Rod Schutt LW 6 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Ken Wregget G 30 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Don Edwards 2009 38 12 23 0 160 4.78 0 1140 980 .860
Ken Wregget 1566 30 9 13 4 113 4.33 0 901 788 .875
Tim Bernhardt 1266 23 4 12 3 107 5.07 0 727 620 .853
Allan Bester 20 1 0 0 0 2 6.00 0 5 3 .600
Team: 4861 80 25 48 7 382 4.72 0 2773 2391 .862

Playoffs

[edit]
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Steve Thomas LW 10 6 8 14 9 3 0 0
Tom Fergus C 10 5 7 12 6 3 0 1
Gary Leeman RW 10 2 10 12 2 0 0 0
Russ Courtnall RW 10 3 6 9 8 1 0 0
Rick Vaive RW 9 6 2 8 9 3 0 0
Borje Salming D 10 1 6 7 14 0 0 0
Wendel Clark LW/D 10 5 1 6 47 1 0 1
Walt Poddubny LW 9 4 1 5 4 0 0 3
Peter Ihnacak C 10 2 3 5 12 0 0 1
Dan Daoust C 10 2 2 4 19 0 0 0
Miroslav Frycer RW 10 1 3 4 10 0 0 0
Brad Smith RW 6 2 1 3 20 1 0 0
Al Iafrate D 10 0 3 3 4 0 0 0
Greg Terrion LW 10 0 3 3 17 0 0 0
Gary Nylund D 10 0 2 2 25 0 0 0
Bill Root D 7 0 2 2 13 0 0 0
Chris Kotsopoulos D 10 1 0 1 14 0 0 0
Brad Maxwell D 3 0 1 1 12 0 0 0
Todd Gill D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bob McGill D 9 0 0 0 35 0 0 0
Marian Stastny RW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ken Wregget G 10 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ken Wregget 607 10 6 4 32 3.16 1 323 291 .901
Team: 607 10 6 4 32 3.16 1 323 291 .901

[16]

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;

Playoffs

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Norris Division semi-finals

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Black Hawks

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 9 Toronto 5 Chicago 3
April 10 Toronto 6 Chicago 4
April 12 Chicago 2 Toronto 7

Toronto wins best-of-five series 3–0

Norris Division Finals

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. St. Louis Blues

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 18 Toronto 1 St. Louis 6
April 20 Toronto 3 St. Louis 0
April 22 St. Louis 2 Toronto 5
April 24 St. Louis 7 Toronto 4
April 26 Toronto 3 St. Louis 4 (OT)
April 28 St. Louis 3 Toronto 5
April 30 Toronto 1 St. Louis 2

St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4–3

Awards and records

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Transactions

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The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1985–86 season.

Trades

[edit]
August 21, 1985 To Quebec Nordiques
John Anderson 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Brad Maxwell
September 18, 1985 To Philadelphia Flyers
Dom Campedelli 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
2nd round pick in 1986 – Darryl Shannon
4th round pick in 1986 – Ken Hulst
October 7, 1985 To Hartford Whalers
Stewart Gavin 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Chris Kotsopoulos
October 11, 1985 To Boston Bruins
Bill Derlago 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Tom Fergus

Free agents

[edit]
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

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The Maple Leafs were affiliated with the St. Catharines Saints of the AHL.

References

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  1. ^ a b McDill, Kent (April 9, 1986). "Seldom has a first-place team been less favored in... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "The Toronto Maple Leafs have only managed to win... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  3. ^ "NHL Roundup – UPI Archives". UPI. March 21, 1986. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ "From out of the lineup to the star of..." UPI. April 28, 1986. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  5. ^ "Stanley Cup Playoff Notebook – UPI Archives". UPI. April 27, 1986. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. ^ McDill, Kent (April 9, 1986). "Gary Leeman scored the go-ahead goal and set up..." UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  7. ^ McDill, Kent (April 10, 1986). "The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the playoffs with the... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  8. ^ McDill, Kent (April 11, 1986). "The greatest playoff performance in Chicago Blackhawks history and... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  9. ^ McDill, Kent (April 11, 1986). "Al Iafrate can already hear the cheers at Toronto's... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  10. ^ "The Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished two surprising feats Saturday... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  11. ^ "Stanley Cup Playoff Notebook – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  12. ^ "Blues eliminate Maple Leafs". New York Times. United Press International. May 1, 1986. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  14. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  15. ^ "1985-86 Toronto Maple Leafs Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  16. ^ "1985-86 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
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