1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs season

1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division 2nd Northeast
Conference 4th Eastern
1998–99 record 45–30–7
Home record 23–13–5
Road record 22–17–2
Goals for 268
Goals against 231
Team information
General Manager Ken Dryden
Coach Pat Quinn
Captain Mats Sundin
Arena Maple Leaf Gardens and Air Canada Centre
Team leaders
Goals Sergei Berezin (37)
Assists Mats Sundin (52)
Points Mats Sundin (83)
Penalties in minutes Tie Domi (198)
Plus/minus Alexander Karpovtsev (+39)
Wins Curtis Joseph (35)
Goals against average Curtis Joseph (2.56)
<1997–98 1999–00>

The 1998–99 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's 82nd season. Two moves occurred this season. The club moved from the Western to the Eastern Conference of the NHL. The club moved from Maple Leaf Gardens to the new Air Canada Centre arena. The Maple Leafs qualified for the playoffs and made it to the Eastern conference finals before losing out to the Buffalo Sabres.

Offseason

The Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the Central Division of the Western Conference to the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference.

Regular season

The 1998–99 season was a tremendous improvement for the Maple Leafs over the 1997–98 season and the team got plenty of help from its new members, who included Bryan Berard, Sylvain Cote, Curtis Joseph, Alexander Karpovtsev (who led the league in +/- with +39 but wasn't eligible for the NHL Plus-Minus Award since he played in only 58 games), Yanic Perreault and Steve Thomas (who finished second on the team in points with 73). Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Pat Quinn replaced Mike Murphy as head coach of the team. Six Maple Leafs scored 20 or more goals. Toronto set a club record for most regular-season wins (45) and earned 97 points to finish second in the Northeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. They lead the league in most goals for (268), and were the only team to score 200 or more even-strength goals.

Maple Leaf Gardens

Air Canada Centre

Season standings

Northeast Division
R CR GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
1 1 Ottawa Senators 82 44 23 15 239 179 892 103
2 4 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 45 30 7 268 231 1095 97
3 6 Boston Bruins 82 39 30 13 214 181 1182 91
4 7 Buffalo Sabres 82 37 28 17 207 175 1561 91
5 11 Montreal Canadiens 82 32 39 11 184 209 1299 75

[1]

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Game log

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 10, 1998 2–1 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 1–0–0
2 W October 13, 1998 3–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 2–0–0
3 W October 16, 1998 7–3 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 3–0–0
4 L October 17, 1998 1–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 3–1–0
5 T October 19, 1998 2–2 OT Nashville Predators (1998–99) 3–1–1
6 W October 23, 1998 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 4–1–1
7 W October 24, 1998 6–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 5–1–1
8 L October 26, 1998 0–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 5–2–1
9 L October 30, 1998 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 5–3–1
10 L October 31, 1998 3–6 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 5–4–1
11 W November 4, 1998 3–0 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 6–4–1
12 L November 5, 1998 1–4 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 6–5–1
13 T November 7, 1998 6–6 OT New York Rangers (1998–99) 6–5–2
14 L November 9, 1998 1–3 New York Islanders (1998–99) 6–6–2
15 W November 11, 1998 3–2 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 7–6–2
16 W November 12, 1998 10–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 8–6–2
17 W November 14, 1998 2–1 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 9–6–2
18 L November 18, 1998 1–4 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 9–7–2
19 L November 20, 1998 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 9–8–2
20 W November 21, 1998 2–1 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 10–8–2
21 W November 23, 1998 3–2 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 11–8–2
22 W November 25, 1998 5–1 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 12–8–2
23 L November 27, 1998 3–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 12–9–2
24 W November 28, 1998 3–2 OT Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 13–9–2
25 W December 2, 1998 3–1 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 14–9–2
26 W December 5, 1998 4–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 15–9–2
27 L December 7, 1998 2–6 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 15–10–2
28 W December 11, 1998 3–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 16–10–2
29 L December 12, 1998 0–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 16–11–2
30 W December 16, 1998 5–2 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 17–11–2
31 W December 19, 1998 7–4 New York Rangers (1998–99) 18–11–2
32 W December 21, 1998 7–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 19–11–2
33 L December 23, 1998 1–5 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 19–12–2
34 L December 26, 1998 1–2 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 19–13–2
35 W December 30, 1998 4–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 20–13–2
36 W December 31, 1998 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 21–13–2
37 L January 2, 1999 2–5 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 21–14–2
38 W January 4, 1999 5–4 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 22–14–2
39 L January 7, 1999 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 22–15–2
40 W January 9, 1999 6–3 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 23–15–2
41 W January 12, 1999 4–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 24–15–2
42 T January 13, 1999 3–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 24–15–3
43 W January 16, 1999 4–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 25–15–3
44 L January 18, 1999 2–4 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 25–16–3
45 W January 20, 1999 6–4 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 26–16–3
46 W January 21, 1999 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 27–16–3
47 L January 28, 1999 0–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 27–17–3
48 W January 30, 1999 5–3 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 28–17–3
49 W February 2, 1999 3–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 29–17–3
50 L February 3, 1999 2–5 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 29–18–3
51 W February 6, 1999 3–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 30–18–3
52 L February 10, 1999 5–6 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 30–19–3
53 L February 13, 1999 2–6 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 30–20–3
54 T February 15, 1999 3–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 30–20–4
55 W February 17, 1999 3–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 31–20–4
56 W February 20, 1999 3–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 32–20–4
57 L February 22, 1999 3–4 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 32–21–4
58 T February 24, 1999 2–2 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 32–21–5
59 W February 25, 1999 4–1 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 33–21–5
60 W February 27, 1999 4–1 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 34–21–5
61 L March 3, 1999 2–5 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 34–22–5
62 W March 4, 1999 4–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 35–22–5
63 L March 6, 1999 1–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 35–23–5
64 L March 8, 1999 2–3 OT @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 35–24–5
65 W March 9, 1999 6–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 36–24–5
66 W March 11, 1999 2–1 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 37–24–5
67 L March 13, 1999 1–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 37–25–5
68 L March 17, 1999 1–4 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 37–26–5
69 W March 20, 1999 3–1 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 38–26–5
70 L March 22, 1999 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 38–27–5
71 L March 24, 1999 5–8 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 38–28–5
72 W March 26, 1999 7–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 39–28–5
73 T March 27, 1999 2–2 OT Boston Bruins (1998–99) 39–28–6
74 W March 31, 1999 6–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 40–28–6
75 W April 1, 1999 5–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 41–28–6
76 W April 3, 1999 5–1 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 42–28–6
77 T April 5, 1999 2–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 42–28–7
78 W April 7, 1999 4–2 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 43–28–7
79 L April 8, 1999 1–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 43–29–7
80 W April 10, 1999 9–1 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 44–29–7
81 W April 14, 1999 3–2 OT New York Islanders (1998–99) 45–29–7
82 L April 17, 1999 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 45–30–7

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Sundin, MatsMats Sundin 82 31 52 83 58 22 4 0 6
Thomas, SteveSteve Thomas 78 28 45 73 33 26 11 0 7
Berezin, SergeiSergei Berezin 76 37 22 59 12 16 9 1 4
King, DerekDerek King 81 24 28 52 20 15 8 0 4
Korolev, IgorIgor Korolev 66 13 34 47 46 11 1 0 2
Johnson, MikeMike Johnson 79 20 24 44 35 13 5 3 2
Sullivan, SteveSteve Sullivan 63 20 20 40 28 12 4 0 5
Modin, FredrikFredrik Modin 67 16 15 31 35 14 1 0 3
Valk, GarryGarry Valk 77 8 21 29 53 8 1 0 0
Cote, SylvainSylvain Cote 79 5 24 29 28 22 0 0 1
Yushkevich, DmitryDmitry Yushkevich 78 6 22 28 88 25 2 1 0
Karpovtsev, AlexanderAlexander Karpovtsev 56 2 25 27 52 38 1 0 1
McCauley, AlynAlyn McCauley 39 9 15 24 2 7 1 0 1
Domi, TieTie Domi 72 8 14 22 198 5 0 0 1
Kaberle, TomasTomas Kaberle 57 4 18 22 12 3 0 0 2
Warriner, ToddTodd Warriner 53 9 10 19 28 -6 1 0 1
Berard, BryanBryan Berard 38 5 14 19 22 7 2 0 2
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault 12 7 8 15 12 10 2 1 2
Smith, JasonJason Smith 60 2 11 13 40 -9 0 0 0
Markov, DannyDanny Markov 57 4 8 12 47 5 0 0 0
Tremblay, YannickYannick Tremblay 35 2 7 9 16 0 0 0 0
Hendrickson, DarbyDarby Hendrickson 35 2 3 5 30 -4 0 0 0
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 67 0 5 5 6 0 0 0 0
King, KrisKris King 67 2 2 4 105 -16 0 1 1
Kohn, LadislavLadislav Kohn 16 1 3 4 4 1 0 0 0
Bohonos, LonnyLonny Bohonos 7 3 0 3 4 3 0 0 0
Eakins, DallasDallas Eakins 18 0 2 2 24 3 0 0 0
McAllister, ChrisChris McAllister 20 0 2 2 39 4 0 0 0
Adams, KevynKevyn Adams 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dahl, KevinKevin Dahl 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Podollan, JasonJason Podollan 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Potvin, FelixFelix Potvin 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reese, JeffJeff Reese 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 4001 67 35 24 7 171 2.56 3 1903 1732 .910
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 546 9 6 3 0 27 2.97 0 257 230 .895
Potvin, FelixFelix Potvin 299 5 3 2 0 19 3.81 0 142 123 .866
Reese, JeffJeff Reese 106 2 1 1 0 8 4.53 0 51 43 .843
Team: 4952 82 45 30 7 225 2.73 3 2353 2128 .904

Playoffs

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Sundin, MatsMats Sundin 17 8 8 16 16 3 0 2
Berezin, SergeiSergei Berezin 17 6 6 12 4 2 0 2
Thomas, SteveSteve Thomas 17 6 3 9 12 2 0 1
Bohonos, LonnyLonny Bohonos 9 3 6 9 2 0 0 0
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault 17 3 6 9 6 0 0 2
Berard, BryanBryan Berard 17 1 8 9 8 1 0 0
Valk, GarryGarry Valk 17 3 4 7 22 0 0 1
Sullivan, SteveSteve Sullivan 13 3 3 6 14 2 0 0
Yushkevich, DmitryDmitry Yushkevich 17 1 5 6 22 1 0 0
Markov, DannyDanny Markov 17 0 6 6 18 0 0 0
Johnson, MikeMike Johnson 17 3 2 5 4 0 0 1
Karpovtsev, AlexanderAlexander Karpovtsev 14 1 3 4 12 1 0 0
King, DerekDerek King 16 1 3 4 4 0 0 0
Cote, SylvainSylvain Cote 17 2 1 3 10 0 0 0
Kaberle, TomasTomas Kaberle 14 0 3 3 2 0 0 0
King, KrisKris King 17 1 1 2 25 0 0 0
Adams, KevynKevyn Adams 7 0 2 2 14 0 0 0
Domi, TieTie Domi 14 0 2 2 24 0 0 0
Mair, AdamAdam Mair 5 1 0 1 14 0 0 0
McAllister, ChrisChris McAllister 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Eakins, DallasDallas Eakins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 17 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Kohn, LadislavLadislav Kohn 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
Korolev, IgorIgor Korolev 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Modin, FredrikFredrik Modin 8 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Warriner, ToddTodd Warriner 9 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 1011 17 9 8 41 2.43 1 440 399 .907
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 20 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 5 5 1.000
Team: 1031 17 9 8 41 2.39 1 445 404 .908

[2]

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;

Transactions

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1998-99 season.

Trades

July 2, 1998 To Calgary Flames
David Cooper
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ladislav Kohn
October 14, 1998 To New York Rangers
Mathieu Schneider
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Alexander Karpovtsev
4th round pick in 1999 - Mirko Murovic
January 9, 1999 To New York Islanders
Felix Potvin
6th round pick in 1999 - Fedor Fedorov
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Bryan Berard
6th round pick in 1999 - Jan Socher
February 16, 1999 To Vancouver Canucks
Darby Hendrickson
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Chris McAllister
February 17, 1999 To Florida Panthers
Jeff Ware
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Nemirovsky
March 23, 1999 To Edmonton Oilers
Jason Smith
To Toronto Maple Leafs
4th round pick in 1999 - Jonathan Zion
2nd round pick in 2000 - Kris Vernarsky
March 23, 1999 To Los Angeles Kings
Jason Podollan
3rd round pick in 1999 - Cory Campbell
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Yanic Perreault

Waivers

October 5, 1998 From St. Louis Blues
Kevin Dahl

Expansion Draft

June 25, 1999 To Atlanta Thrashers
Yannick Tremblay

Free agents

Player Former Team
Steve Thomas New Jersey Devils
Dallas Eakins Florida Panthers
Curtis Joseph Edmonton Oilers
Niklas Andersson San Jose Sharks
Garry Valk Pittsburgh Penguins
Glen Featherstone Chicago Wolves (IHL)
Player New Team
Kelly Fairchild Dallas Stars
Mike Craig San Jose Sharks
Marcel Cousineau New York Islanders
Wendel Clark Tampa Bay Lightning
Matt Martin Dallas Stars

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Finals

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres met in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals. The Maple Leafs were coming off a six-game series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Sabres were coming off a six-game series win themselves, over the Boston Bruins. Toronto was having its best playoff since 1994, when they last made a conference final series. Buffalo, on the other hand, was in the third round for the second consecutive year.

With the series victory, the Sabres advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 24 years.

Toronto (4) vs. Buffalo (7)
Date Away Home Score
May 23 Buffalo Toronto 5 – 4
May 25 Buffalo Toronto 6 – 3
May 27 Toronto Buffalo 4 – 2
May 29 Toronto Buffalo 5 – 2
May 31 Buffalo Toronto 4 – 2
Buffalo wins series 4–1 and Prince of Wales Trophy

Roster

Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centres

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 155.
  2. ^ "1998-99 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/TRA/1999.html. Retrieved 2009-05-27. 
  3. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.