1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 50th season of the Toronto NHL franchise, 40th as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs finished third in the NHL with a record of 32–27–11 for 75 points to qualify for the playoffs. Toronto defeated the first-place Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the semi-finals before upending their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens in six games to win their thirteenth Stanley Cup in franchise history. As of 2023-24 this remains the last time that the Maple Leafs have won the Stanley Cup and the last time they have made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs
Stanley Cup champions
League3rd NHL
1966–67 record32–27–11
Goals for204
Goals against211
Team information
General managerPunch Imlach
CoachPunch Imlach
CaptainGeorge Armstrong
Alternate captainsBob Pulford
Allan Stanley
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsRon Ellis (22)
AssistsDave Keon (33)
PointsDave Keon (52)
Penalty minutesJim Pappin (89)
WinsTerry Sawchuk (15)
Goals against averageJohnny Bower (2.64)

Offseason

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Intra-League Draft

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June 15, 1966 To Montreal Canadiens
Wally Boyer
June 15, 1966 From Montreal Canadiens
Don Blackburn
June 15, 1966 From New York Rangers
John Brenneman
June 15, 1966 To New York Rangers
Orland Kurtenbach

Inter-League Draft

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June 1, 1966 From Tulsa Oilers
Danny Johnson

Reverse Draft

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June 12, 1966 To Providence Reds (AHL)
John Sleaver

Free agents

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Player Former Team
Andre Hinse Undrafted Free Agent

Regular season

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Five to a Crease

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In 1966–67, the Maple Leafs had five goaltenders suit up during the regular season. Besides Bower and Sawchuk, the Maple Leafs employed Bruce Gamble, Al Smith, and Gary Smith. As Bower struggled with injuries, Al Smith actually sat on the bench for two of the last three Stanley Cup games.[1] For many inside the organization, the controversy was that Smith was on the bench, and not a proven player like Gamble. The concern was that if Sawchuk was injured, having Smith instead of Gamble would be a huge risk. The source of the controversy was that Bruce Gamble was competing for the Rochester Americans. Imlach was a part owner of the Americans, and was anxious to protect Rochester's roster at playoff time, as a means of protecting his investment.[1]

Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
1 Chicago Black Hawks 70 41 17 12 264 170 +94 94
2 Montreal Canadiens 70 32 25 13 202 188 +14 77
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 32 27 11 204 211 −7 75
4 New York Rangers 70 30 28 12 188 189 −1 72
5 Detroit Red Wings 70 27 39 4 212 241 −29 58
6 Boston Bruins 70 17 43 10 182 253 −71 44

Record vs. opponents

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1966–67 NHL Records [2]
Team BOS CHI DET MTL NYR TOR
Boston 2–11–1 6–6–2 5–7–2 2–8–4 2–11–1
Chicago 11–2–1 10–4 5–2–7 7–5–2 8–4–2
Detroit 6–6–2 4–10 4–10 7–7 6–6–2
Montreal 7–5–2 2–5–7 10–4 7–5–2 6–6–2
New York 8–2–4 5–7–2 7–7 5–7–2 5–5–4
Toronto 11–2–1 4–8–2 6–6–2 6–6–2 5–5–4


Schedule and results

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1966–67 Game Log (32–27–11) (Home: 21–8–6; Road: 11–19–5)
October: 1–1–2 (Home: 1–0–2; Road: 0–1–0)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
1 T October 22, 1966 4–4 New York Rangers (1966–67) 0–0–1 1
2 L October 23, 1966 0–1 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 0–1–1 1
3 W October 26, 1966 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 1–1–1 3
4 T October 29, 1966 3–3 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 1–1–2 4
November: 6–3–5 (Home: 5–0–1; Road: 1–3–4)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
5 T November 2, 1966 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 1–1–3 5
6 T November 3, 1966 2–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 1–1–4 6
7 W November 5, 1966 3–1 New York Rangers (1966–67) 2–1–4 8
8 T November 6, 1966 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 2–1–5 9
9 W November 9, 1966 3–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 3–1–5 11
10 L November 10, 1966 0–4 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 3–2–5 11
11 T November 12, 1966 3–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 3–2–6 12
12 L November 13, 1966 1–6 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 3–3–6 12
13 W November 19, 1966 5–1 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 4–3–6 14
14 T November 20, 1966 2–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 4–3–7 15
15 W November 23, 1966 6–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 5–3–7 17
16 W November 26, 1966 4–2 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 6–3–7 19
17 L November 27, 1966 0–5 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 6–4–7 19
18 W November 30, 1966 3–2 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 7–4–7 21
December: 6–6–0 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 2–4–0)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
19 W December 3, 1966 5–2 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 8–4–7 23
20 W December 4, 1966 8–3 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 9–4–7 25
21 L December 7, 1966 3–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 9–5–7 25
22 W December 10, 1966 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 10–5–7 27
23 L December 11, 1966 1–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 10–6–7 27
24 W December 14, 1966 2–1 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 11–6–7 29
25 L December 17, 1966 1–3 New York Rangers (1966–67) 11–7–7 29
26 L December 18, 1966 1–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 11–8–7 29
27 L December 21, 1966 2–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 11–9–7 29
28 W December 24, 1966 3–0 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 12–9–7 31
29 W December 25, 1966 4–2 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 13–9–7 33
30 L December 31, 1966 1–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 13–10–7 33
January: 4–8–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 2–5–0)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
31 W January 1, 1967 2–1 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 14–10–7 35
32 T January 4, 1967 1–1 New York Rangers (1966–67) 14–10–8 37
33 W January 7, 1967 5–2 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 15–10–8 38
34 L January 8, 1967 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 15–11–8 38
35 W January 11, 1967 2–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 16–11–8 40
36 W January 14, 1967 5–2 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 17–11–8 42
37 L January 15, 1967 0–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 17–12–8 42
38 L January 19, 1967 2–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 17–13–8 42
39 L January 21, 1967 4–5 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 17–14–8 42
40 L January 22, 1967 1–3 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 17–15–8 42
41 L January 25, 1967 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 17–16–8 42
42 L January 28, 1967 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 17–17–8 42
43 L January 29, 1967 1–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 17–18–8 42
February: 7–3–1 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–0)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
44 L February 1, 1967 1–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 17–19–8 42
45 L February 5, 1967 1–4 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 17–20–8 42
46 L February 8, 1967 2–5 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 17–21–8 42
47 T February 11, 1967 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 17–21–9 43
48 W February 12, 1967 2–1 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 18–21–9 45
49 W February 15, 1967 6–0 New York Rangers (1966–67) 19–21–9 47
50 W February 18, 1967 5–3 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 20–21–9 49
51 W February 22, 1967 5–2 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 21–21–9 51
52 W February 23, 1967 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 22–21–9 53
53 W February 25, 1967 4–0 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 23–21–9 55
54 W February 26, 1967 4–2 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 24–21–9 57
March: 6–6–2 (Home: 4–2–1; Road: 2–4–1)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
55 T March 1, 1967 1–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 24–21–10 58
56 W March 4, 1967 3–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 25–21–10 60
57 L March 5, 1967 2–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 25–22–10 60
58 W March 8, 1967 6–4 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 26–22–10 62
59 T March 11, 1967 2–2 New York Rangers (1966–67) 26–22–11 63
60 L March 12, 1967 0–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 26–23–11 63
61 L March 15, 1967 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 26–24–11 63
62 W March 18, 1967 9–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) 27–24–11 65
63 W March 19, 1967 6–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) 28–24–11 67
64 L March 22, 1967 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 28–25–11 67
65 W March 23, 1967 5–3 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 29–25–11 69
66 W March 25, 1967 4–3 Boston Bruins (1966–67) 30–25–11 71
67 L March 26, 1967 0–4 @ New York Rangers (1966–67) 30–26–11 71
68 L March 29, 1967 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) 30–27–11 71
April: 2–0–0 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 1–0–0)
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Pts.
69 W April 1, 1967 5–1 New York Rangers (1966–67) 31–27–11 73
70 W April 2, 1967 5–2 @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) 32–27–11 75

[3]

Player statistics

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Forwards

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Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Dave Keon 66 19 33 52 2
Frank Mahovlich 63 18 28 46 44
Bob Pulford 67 17 28 45 28
Ron Ellis 67 22 23 45 14
Pete Stemkowski 68 13 22 35 75
George Armstrong 70 9 24 33 26
Norm Ullman 75 35 42 77 41
Paul Henderson 74 27 32 59 16
Doug Barrie 71 24 31 52 19
Floyd Smith 64 15 19 34 22
James Dolson 67 10 8 18 37
Jim Pappin 64 21 11 32 89
Larry Jeffrey 56 11 17 28 27
Brian Conacher 66 14 13 27 47
Eddie Shack 63 11 14 25 58
Mike Walton 31 7 10 17 13
John Brenneman 41 6 4 10 4
Brit Selby 6 1 1 2 0
Wayne Carleton 5 1 0 1 14
Brent Imlach 1 0 0 0 0
Dick Gamble 1 0 0 0 0

Defensemen

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Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Red Kelly 61 14 24 38 4
Tim Horton 70 8 17 25 70
Larry Hillman 55 4 19 23 40
Marcel Pronovost 58 2 12 14 28
Kent Douglas 39 2 12 14 48
Allan Stanley 53 1 12 13 20
Bob Baun 54 2 8 10 83
Jim McKenny 6 1 0 1 0
Duane Rupp 3 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

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Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

Player GP W L T SO GAA
Terry Sawchuk 28 15 5 4 2 2.81
Johnny Bower 27 12 9 3 2 2.64
Bruce Gamble 23 5 10 4 0 3.39
Gary Smith 2 0 2 0 0 3.65
Al Smith 1 0 1 0 0 5.00

Playoffs

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1967 Stanley Cup Playoffs Game Log
1967 Stanley Cup Semifinals vs. Chicago Black Hawks – Maple Leafs wins series 4–2
No. R Date Score OT Opponent Series
1 L April 6, 1967 2–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks 0–1
2 W April 9, 1967 3–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks 1–1
3 W April 11, 1967 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1
4 L April 13, 1967 3–4 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2
5 W April 15, 1967 4–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks 3–2
6 W April 18, 1967 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks 4–2
1967 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Montreal Canadiens – Maple Leafs wins series 4–2
No. R Date Score OT Opponent Series
1 L April 20, 1967 2–6 @ Montreal Canadiens 0–1
2 W April 22, 1967 3–0 @ Montreal Canadiens 1–1
3 W April 25, 1967 3–2 2OT Montreal Canadiens 2–1
4 L April 27, 1967 2–6 Montreal Canadiens 2–2
5 W April 29, 1967 4–1 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–2
6 W May 2, 1967 3–1 Montreal Canadiens 4–2

Transactions

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The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1966–67 season.

Trades

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May 15, 1967 To Boston Bruins
Eddie Shack
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Murray Oliver
Cash
June 1, 1967 To New York Rangers
Cash
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Pete Conacher

Draft picks

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Toronto's draft picks at the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 4 John Wright   Canada West Clair Gaels (OHA)
2 10 Cam Crosby   Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
3 16 Rick Ley   Canada Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
4 22 Dale MacLeish   Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)

Awards and honors

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  • Dave Keon, Conn Smythe Trophy
  • 2024 NHL Alumni Association's Keith Magnuson ‘Man of the Year’ award[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b 67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire, p. 82, Damien Cox and Gord Stellick, ISBN 0-470-83400-5, Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  4. ^ "1967 Maple Leafs receive 2024 Keith Magnuson 'Man of the Year' award". nhl.com. February 1, 2024.