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 led the league in most goals for (268), and were the only team to score 200 or more even-strength goals.[1]

On November 12, 1998, the Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks on the road by a score of 10-3.[2] Mats Sundin recorded a hat trick in the game, which was the first regular-season game in which the Leafs had scored 10 goals since February 17, 1989, when they defeated the New York Rangers on the road by a score of 10-6.[3]

Maple Leaf Gardens

Air Canada Centre

Season standings

Northeast Division
R CR GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
1 2 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

[4]

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.

Eastern Conference[5]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 y – New Jersey Devils ATL 82 47 24 11 248 196 105
2 y – Ottawa Senators NE 82 44 23 15 239 179 103
3 y – Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 34 30 18 210 202 86
4 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 45 30 7 268 231 97
5 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 37 26 19 231 196 93
6 Boston Bruins NE 82 39 30 13 214 181 91
7 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 37 28 17 207 175 91
8 Pittsburgh Penguins ATL 82 38 30 14 242 225 90
9 Florida Panthers SE 82 30 34 18 210 228 78
10 New York Rangers ATL 82 33 38 11 217 227 77
11 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 32 39 11 184 209 75
12 Washington Capitals SE 82 31 45 6 200 218 68
13 New York Islanders ATL 82 24 48 10 194 244 58
14 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 19 54 9 179 292 47

Divisions: ATL - Atlantic Division, NE - Northeast Division, SE - Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 10, 19982–1 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 1–0–0
2WOctober 13, 19983–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 2–0–0
3WOctober 16, 19987–3 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 3–0–0
4LOctober 17, 19981–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 3–1–0
5TOctober 19, 19982–2 OT Nashville Predators (1998–99) 3–1–1
6WOctober 23, 19985–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 4–1–1
7WOctober 24, 19986–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 5–1–1
8LOctober 26, 19980–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 5–2–1
9LOctober 30, 19981–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 5–3–1
10LOctober 31, 19983–6 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 5–4–1
11WNovember 4, 19983–0 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 6–4–1
12LNovember 5, 19981–4 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 6–5–1
13TNovember 7, 19986–6 OT New York Rangers (1998–99) 6–5–2
14LNovember 9, 19981–3 New York Islanders (1998–99) 6–6–2
15WNovember 11, 19983–2 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 7–6–2
16WNovember 12, 199810–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 8–6–2
17WNovember 14, 19982–1 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 9–6–2
18LNovember 18, 19981–4 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 9–7–2
19LNovember 20, 19981–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 9–8–2
20WNovember 21, 19982–1 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 10–8–2
21WNovember 23, 19983–2 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 11–8–2
22WNovember 25, 19985–1 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 12–8–2
23LNovember 27, 19983–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 12–9–2
24WNovember 28, 19983–2 OT Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 13–9–2
25WDecember 2, 19983–1 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 14–9–2
26WDecember 5, 19984–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 15–9–2
27LDecember 7, 19982–6 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 15–10–2
28WDecember 11, 19983–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 16–10–2
29LDecember 12, 19980–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 16–11–2
30WDecember 16, 19985–2 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 17–11–2
31WDecember 19, 19987–4 New York Rangers (1998–99) 18–11–2
32WDecember 21, 19987–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 19–11–2
33LDecember 23, 19981–5 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 19–12–2
34LDecember 26, 19981–2 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 19–13–2
35WDecember 30, 19984–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 20–13–2
36WDecember 31, 19984–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 21–13–2
37LJanuary 2, 19992–5 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 21–14–2
38WJanuary 4, 19995–4 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 22–14–2
39LJanuary 7, 19991–2 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 22–15–2
40WJanuary 9, 19996–3 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 23–15–2
41WJanuary 12, 19994–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 24–15–2
42TJanuary 13, 19993–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 24–15–3
43WJanuary 16, 19994–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 25–15–3
44LJanuary 18, 19992–4 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 25–16–3
45WJanuary 20, 19996–4 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 26–16–3
46WJanuary 21, 19994–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 27–16–3
47LJanuary 28, 19990–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 27–17–3
48WJanuary 30, 19995–3 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 28–17–3
49WFebruary 2, 19993–0 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 29–17–3
50LFebruary 3, 19992–5 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 29–18–3
51WFebruary 6, 19993–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 30–18–3
52LFebruary 10, 19995–6 Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 30–19–3
53LFebruary 13, 19992–6 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 30–20–3
54TFebruary 15, 19993–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 30–20–4
55WFebruary 17, 19993–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 31–20–4
56WFebruary 20, 19993–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 32–20–4
57LFebruary 22, 19993–4 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 32–21–4
58TFebruary 24, 19992–2 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 32–21–5
59WFebruary 25, 19994–1 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 33–21–5
60WFebruary 27, 19994–1 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 34–21–5
61LMarch 3, 19992–5 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 34–22–5
62WMarch 4, 19994–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 35–22–5
63LMarch 6, 19991–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 35–23–5
64LMarch 8, 19992–3 OT @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 35–24–5
65WMarch 9, 19996–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 36–24–5
66WMarch 11, 19992–1 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 37–24–5
67LMarch 13, 19991–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 37–25–5
68LMarch 17, 19991–4 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 37–26–5
69WMarch 20, 19993–1 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 38–26–5
70LMarch 22, 19991–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 38–27–5
71LMarch 24, 19995–8 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 38–28–5
72WMarch 26, 19997–2 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 39–28–5
73TMarch 27, 19992–2 OT Boston Bruins (1998–99) 39–28–6
74WMarch 31, 19996–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 40–28–6
75WApril 1, 19995–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 41–28–6
76WApril 3, 19995–1 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 42–28–6
77TApril 5, 19992–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 42–28–7
78WApril 7, 19994–2 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 43–28–7
79LApril 8, 19991–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 43–29–7
80WApril 10, 19999–1 Florida Panthers (1998–99) 44–29–7
81WApril 14, 19993–2 OT New York Islanders (1998–99) 45–29–7
82LApril 17, 19992–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 45–30–7

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Sundin, MatsMats Sundin 82 31 52 83 5822406
Thomas, SteveSteve Thomas 78 28 45 73 33261107
Berezin, SergeiSergei Berezin 76 37 22 59 1216914
King, DerekDerek King 81 24 28 52 2015804
Korolev, IgorIgor Korolev 66 13 34 47 4611102
Johnson, MikeMike Johnson 79 20 24 44 3513532
Sullivan, SteveSteve Sullivan 63 20 20 40 2812405
Modin, FredrikFredrik Modin 67 16 15 31 3514103
Valk, GarryGarry Valk 77 8 21 29 538100
Cote, SylvainSylvain Cote 79 5 24 29 2822001
Yushkevich, DmitryDmitry Yushkevich 78 6 22 28 8825210
Karpovtsev, AlexanderAlexander Karpovtsev 56 2 25 27 5238101
McCauley, AlynAlyn McCauley 39 9 15 24 27101
Domi, TieTie Domi 72 8 14 22 1985001
Kaberle, TomasTomas Kaberle 57 4 18 22 123002
Warriner, ToddTodd Warriner 53 9 10 19 28-6101
Berard, BryanBryan Berard 38 5 14 19 227202
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault 12 7 8 15 1210212
Smith, JasonJason Smith 60 2 11 13 40-9000
Markov, DannyDanny Markov 57 4 8 12 475000
Tremblay, YannickYannick Tremblay 35 2 7 9 160000
Hendrickson, DarbyDarby Hendrickson 35 2 3 5 30-4000
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 67 0 5 5 60000
King, KrisKris King 67 2 2 4 105-16011
Kohn, LadislavLadislav Kohn 16 1 3 4 41000
Bohonos, LonnyLonny Bohonos 7 3 0 3 43000
Eakins, DallasDallas Eakins 18 0 2 2 243000
McAllister, ChrisChris McAllister 20 0 2 2 394000
Adams, KevynKevyn Adams 1 0 0 0 00000
Dahl, KevinKevin Dahl 3 0 0 0 20000
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 9 0 0 0 00000
Podollan, JasonJason Podollan 4 0 0 0 00000
Potvin, FelixFelix Potvin 5 0 0 0 00000
Reese, JeffJeff Reese 2 0 0 0 00000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 4001 67 35 24 7 171 2.56 319031732.910
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 546 9 6 3 0 27 2.97 0257230.895
Potvin, FelixFelix Potvin 299 5 3 2 0 19 3.81 0142123.866
Reese, JeffJeff Reese 106 2 1 1 0 8 4.53 05143.843
Team: 4952 82 45 30 7 225 2.73 323532128.904

Playoffs

Scoring
Player GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Sundin, MatsMats Sundin 17 8 8 16 16302
Berezin, SergeiSergei Berezin 17 6 6 12 4202
Thomas, SteveSteve Thomas 17 6 3 9 12201
Bohonos, LonnyLonny Bohonos 9 3 6 9 2000
Perreault, YanicYanic Perreault 17 3 6 9 6002
Berard, BryanBryan Berard 17 1 8 9 8100
Valk, GarryGarry Valk 17 3 4 7 22001
Sullivan, SteveSteve Sullivan 13 3 3 6 14200
Yushkevich, DmitryDmitry Yushkevich 17 1 5 6 22100
Markov, DannyDanny Markov 17 0 6 6 18000
Johnson, MikeMike Johnson 17 3 2 5 4001
Karpovtsev, AlexanderAlexander Karpovtsev 14 1 3 4 12100
King, DerekDerek King 16 1 3 4 4000
Cote, SylvainSylvain Cote 17 2 1 3 10000
Kaberle, TomasTomas Kaberle 14 0 3 3 2000
King, KrisKris King 17 1 1 2 25000
Adams, KevynKevyn Adams 7 0 2 2 14000
Domi, TieTie Domi 14 0 2 2 24000
Mair, AdamAdam Mair 5 1 0 1 14000
McAllister, ChrisChris McAllister 6 0 1 1 4000
Eakins, DallasDallas Eakins 1 0 0 0 0000
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 1 0 0 0 0000
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 17 0 0 0 2000
Kohn, LadislavLadislav Kohn 2 0 0 0 5000
Korolev, IgorIgor Korolev 1 0 0 0 0000
Modin, FredrikFredrik Modin 8 0 0 0 6000
Warriner, ToddTodd Warriner 9 0 0 0 2000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Joseph, CurtisCurtis Joseph 1011 17 9 8 41 2.43 1440399.907
Healy, GlennGlenn Healy 20 1 0 0 0 0.00 0551.000
Team: 1031 17 9 8 41 2.39 1445404.908

[6]

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

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

1998-99 Toronto Maple Leafs
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centres

Awards and honors

References