1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs season



The 1967-68 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 51st season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs finished 5th in the East Division and missed the playoffs.

Pre-season
The Maple Leafs held their training camp in Peterborough, Ontario.

Players Lost in Expansion Draft
The following Maple Leafs were lost to various franchises in the Expansion Draft.

Regular Season
Called up from the London Nationals of the OHA, Garry Unger played his first NHL game on November 4, 1967 in a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers. The November 6, 1967 match versus Boston saw a bench clearing brawl at 5:28 of the second period. With the Bruins leading 1-0 on a Bobby Orr Power play goal, Leafs Brian Conacher was killing a penalty and dumped the puck into the Bruins zone as Orr approached him. Conacher's stick came up and broke Orr's nose. John McKenzie starting pummelling Conacher, who fell to the ice. Orr then joined in on beating Conacher, which resulted in the Leafs bench clearing, followed by the Bruins. It was the first bench clearing brawl in the league since December 6, 1963. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.

J. P. Parisé played his only game for the Maple Leafs on November 15, 1967 in a 4-2 win over the Bruins and recorded an assist. Having signed a contract with Toronto, Garry Unger was given a regular shift with Pete Stemkowski and Jim Pappin for the November 18, 1967 game versus the Chicago Black Hawks. Trailing 1-0 early in the second period, Stemkowski dug the puck out of the corner and his centering pass caromed to Unger who whacked in his first NHL goal past Denis DeJordy.

Disaster struck during the December 9, 1967 Bruins-Leafs game in Toronto. In the first period while killing a penalty to Skip Krake, Bobby Orr began to carry the puck from in front of the Bruins net. He was hit with a clean check by Frank Mahovlich which broke his left collarbone. Amazingly, Orr played another penalty-killing shift before leaving the game. Later, a Mahovlich slap shot hit Ted Green above the knee and he was forced to leave the game. Green's injury caused him to miss only two games but Orr was out until Christmas.

Mike Byers played his first NHL game on December 30, 1967 in an 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The Maple Leafs hosted the 21st National Hockey League All-Star Game at Maple Leaf Gardens on January 16, 1968. Toronto beat a team of All-Stars by a score of 4-3. Mike Pelyk and André Hinse were both called up for their first NHL game, a 3-2 loss to Chicago Black Hawks on February 7, 1968. Hinse played three more games, his only in the NHL, while Pelyk became a regular, his first of nine seasons for the Maple Leafs.

With playoff chances fading, the Red Wings made a blockbuster trade with the Maple Leafs on March 3, 1968, sending Norm Ullman, Paul Henderson, Floyd Smith and Doug Barrie in exchange for Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger and the rights to Carl Brewer. The teams met less than a week later on March 9 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Detroit took a 4-0 lead, led by Mahovlich's goal and two assists. However, Ullman turned the tide with two goals and an assist as Toronto came back to win 7-5. Despite excellent performances from Mahovlich, Ullman, Unger and Henderson for the rest of the season, both teams missed the playoffs.

Playoffs

 * The Maple Leafs did not qualify for the post season.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Awards and Records

 * Bruce Gamble, All-Star Game MVP
 * Vezina Trophy: Johnny Bower & Bruce Gamble, Runner-Up
 * Tim Horton, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star

Transactions
The Maple Leafs were involved in the following transactions during the 1967-68 season.

Trivia

 * Maple Leafs who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Mike Walton during the 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins on November 15, 1967.
 * Frank Mahovlich during the 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on December 30, 1967.
 * Bob Pulford during the 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 13, 1968.
 * Floyd Smith during the 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 17, 1968.

Video
Blues-Leafs game from December 30, 1967.