1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1985–86
Year:	1985
Team:	Toronto Maple Leafs
Conferencerank:	8th
Divisionrank:	4th
Record:	25–48–7
Goalsfor:	311
Goalsagainst:	386
Goalsleader:	Wendel Clark (34)
Assistsleader:	Miroslav Frycer (43)
Pointsleader:	Miroslav Frycer (75)
Pimleader:	Wendel Clark (227)

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

Offseason

NHL Draft

See also: 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

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

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

No.	R	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
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
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
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
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
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
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

^[13]

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
	RW	73	32	43	75	74	-24	7	0	3
	C	78	31	42	73	64	-24	3	2	3
	RW	61	33	31	64	85	-19	12	0	1
	RW	73	22	38	60	52	0	3	1	4
	LW	65	20	37	57	36	-15	5	0	5
	RW	70	23	30	53	21	-6	7	0	0
	LW/D	66	34	11	45	227	-27	4	0	3
	C	63	18	27	45	16	-9	5	0	1
	LW	33	12	22	34	25	6	5	0	1
	D	65	8	25	33	40	-10	2	0	2
	LW	76	10	22	32	31	-5	0	2	1
	RW	53	9	23	32	20	-1	1	1	0
	D	52	8	18	26	108	-27	4	0	0
	C	40	13	12	25	12	-5	2	0	0
	D	52	4	21	25	71	-4	2	0	0
	D	41	7	15	22	48	-7	3	1	1
	RW	42	5	17	22	84	-8	0	0	0
	C	80	7	13	20	88	-21	1	0	0
	D	79	2	16	18	180	-32	0	0	0
	D	61	6	11	17	83	-5	0	0	0
	LW	15	1	6	7	0	-11	0	0	0
	LW	21	2	4	6	27	-6	1	0	0
	D	61	1	4	5	141	-17	0	0	0
	D	15	1	2	3	28	0	0	0	0
	LW	5	1	2	3	2	3	0	0	0
	C	2	1	0	1	2	-1	0	0	0
	G	23	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
	C	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
	D	6	0	1	1	4	-3	0	0	0
	D	27	0	1	1	29	-8	0	0	0
	D	27	0	1	1	21	-4	0	0	0
	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	LW	21	0	0	0	67	0	0	0	0
	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	G	38	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
	LW	6	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
	G	30	0	0	0	16	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	2009	38	12	23	0	160	4.78	0	1140	980	.860
	1566	30	9	13	4	113	4.33	0	901	788	.875
	1266	23	4	12	3	107	5.07	0	727	620	.853
	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

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
	LW	10	6	8	14	9	3	0	0
	C	10	5	7	12	6	3	0	1
	RW	10	2	10	12	2	0	0	0
	RW	10	3	6	9	8	1	0	0
	RW	9	6	2	8	9	3	0	0
	D	10	1	6	7	14	0	0	0
	LW/D	10	5	1	6	47	1	0	1
	LW	9	4	1	5	4	0	0	3
	C	10	2	3	5	12	0	0	1
	C	10	2	2	4	19	0	0	0
	RW	10	1	3	4	10	0	0	0
	RW	6	2	1	3	20	1	0	0
	D	10	0	3	3	4	0	0	0
	LW	10	0	3	3	17	0	0	0
	D	10	0	2	2	25	0	0	0
	D	7	0	2	2	13	0	0	0
	D	10	1	0	1	14	0	0	0
	D	3	0	1	1	12	0	0	0
	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	D	9	0	0	0	35	0	0	0
	RW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	G	10	0	0	0	4	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	607	10	6	4	32	3.16	1	323	291	.901
Team:	607	10	6	4	32	3.16	1	323	291	.901

^[14]

Playoffs

Norris Division semi-finals

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

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

Transactions

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

Trades

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

Player Former Team Detroit Red Wings Quebec Nordiques New Jersey Devils Quebec Nordiques Pittsburgh Penguins Buffalo Sabres Undrafted Free Agent

Player New Team Detroit Red Wings St. Louis Blues Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers

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)

Farm Teams

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

References

• Maple Leafs on Hockey Database

Notes and References

1. Web site: McDill . Kent . April 9, 1986 . Seldom has a first-place team been less favored in... – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . UPI .
2. Web site: The Toronto Maple Leafs have only managed to win... – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . .
3. Web site: March 21, 1986 . NHL Roundup – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . UPI .
4. Web site: April 28, 1986 . From out of the lineup to the star of... . 2024-01-27 . UPI .
5. Web site: April 27, 1986 . Stanley Cup Playoff Notebook – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . UPI .
6. Web site: McDill . Kent . April 9, 1986 . Gary Leeman scored the go-ahead goal and set up... . 2024-01-27 . .
7. Web site: McDill . Kent . April 10, 1986 . The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the playoffs with the... – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . .
8. Web site: McDill . Kent . April 11, 1986 . The greatest playoff performance in Chicago Blackhawks history and... – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . .
9. Web site: McDill . Kent . April 11, 1986 . Al Iafrate can already hear the cheers at Toronto's... – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . .
10. Web site: The Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished two surprising feats Saturday... – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . .
11. Web site: Stanley Cup Playoff Notebook – UPI Archives . 2024-01-27 . UPI .
12. Web site: May 1, 1986 . Blues eliminate Maple Leafs . January 27, 2024 . . United Press International.
13. Web site: 1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-21 .
14. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-28 . 1985-86 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.