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 for the ninth year in a row in what was to be the final season of the Original Six period of NHL history. 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. 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 Final. This was the last Toronto based team in a major professional sports league to win a championship until the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1992 World Series. The Maple Leafs had the oldest average player age of any team to win the Stanley Cup to that point (later surpassed by the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings).
Offseason
Intra-league draft June 15, 1966To Montreal CanadiensWally Boyer June 15, 1966From Montreal CanadiensDon Blackburn June 15, 1966From New York RangersJohn Brenneman June 15, 1966To New York RangersOrland Kurtenbach
Inter-league draft June 1, 1966From Tulsa OilersDanny Johnson
Reverse draft June 12, 1966To Providence Reds (AHL)John Sleaver
Free agents Player Former team Andre Hinse Undrafted Free Agent
Regular season
Five to a Crease 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.67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire, p. 82, Damien Cox and Gord Stellick, , Publisher: John Wiley and Sons 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.
Final standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
|1||T||October 22, 1966||4–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||0–0–1||1
|2||L||October 23, 1966||0–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||0–1–1||1
|3||W||October 26, 1966||3–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||1–1–1||3
|4||T||October 29, 1966||3–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||1–1–2||4
|5||T||November 2, 1966||2–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||1–1–3||5
|6||T||November 3, 1966||2–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||1–1–4||6
|7||W||November 5, 1966||3–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||2–1–4||8
|8||T||November 6, 1966||3–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||2–1–5||9
|9||W||November 9, 1966||3–2 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||3–1–5||11
|10||L||November 10, 1966||0–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||3–2–5||11
|11||T||November 12, 1966||3–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||3–2–6||12
|12||L||November 13, 1966||1–6 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||3–3–6||12
|13||W||November 19, 1966||5–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||4–3–6||14
|14||T||November 20, 1966||2–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||4–3–7||15
|15||W||November 23, 1966||6–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||5–3–7||17
|16||W||November 26, 1966||4–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||6–3–7||19
|17||L||November 27, 1966||0–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||6–4–7||19
|18||W||November 30, 1966||3–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||7–4–7||21
|19||W||December 3, 1966||5–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||8–4–7||23
|20||W||December 4, 1966||8–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||9–4–7||25
|21||L||December 7, 1966||3–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||9–5–7||25
|22||W||December 10, 1966||5–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||10–5–7||27
|23||L||December 11, 1966||1–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||10–6–7||27
|24||W||December 14, 1966||2–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||11–6–7||29
|25||L||December 17, 1966||1–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||11–7–7||29
|26||L||December 18, 1966||1–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||11–8–7||29
|27||L||December 21, 1966||2–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||11–9–7||29
|28||W||December 24, 1966||3–0 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||12–9–7||31
|29||W||December 25, 1966||4–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||13–9–7||33
|30||L||December 31, 1966||1–5 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||13–10–7||33
|31||W||January 1, 1967||2–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||14–10–7||35
|32||T||January 4, 1967||1–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||14–10–8||37
|33||W||January 7, 1967||5–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||15–10–8||38
|34||L||January 8, 1967||1–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||15–11–8||38
|35||W||January 11, 1967||2–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||16–11–8||40
|36||W||January 14, 1967||5–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||17–11–8||42
|37||L||January 15, 1967||0–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||17–12–8||42
|38||L||January 19, 1967||2–6 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||17–13–8||42
|39||L||January 21, 1967||4–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||17–14–8||42
|40||L||January 22, 1967||1–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||17–15–8||42
|41||L||January 25, 1967||1–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||17–16–8||42
|42||L||January 28, 1967||2–5 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||17–17–8||42
|43||L||January 29, 1967||1–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||17–18–8||42
|44||L||February 1, 1967||1–7 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||17–19–8||42
|45||L||February 5, 1967||1–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||17–20–8||42
|46||L||February 8, 1967||2–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||17–21–8||42
|47||T||February 11, 1967||4–4 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||17–21–9||43
|48||W||February 12, 1967||2–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||18–21–9||45
|49||W||February 15, 1967||6–0 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||19–21–9||47
|50||W||February 18, 1967||5–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||20–21–9||49
|51||W||February 22, 1967||5–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||21–21–9||51
|52||W||February 23, 1967||4–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||22–21–9||53
|53||W||February 25, 1967||4–0 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||23–21–9||55
|54||W||February 26, 1967||4–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||24–21–9||57
|55||T||March 1, 1967||1–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||24–21–10||58
|56||W||March 4, 1967||3–0 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||25–21–10||60
|57||L||March 5, 1967||2–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||25–22–10||60
|58||W||March 8, 1967||6–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||26–22–10||62
|59||T||March 11, 1967||2–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||26–22–11||63
|60||L||March 12, 1967||0–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||26–23–11||63
|61||L||March 15, 1967||2–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||26–24–11||63
|62||W||March 18, 1967||9–5 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67) ||27–24–11||65
|63||W||March 19, 1967||6–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67) ||28–24–11||67
|64||L||March 22, 1967||3–5 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||28–25–11||67
|65||W||March 23, 1967||5–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||29–25–11||69
|66||W||March 25, 1967||4–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||30–25–11||71
|67||L||March 26, 1967||0–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1966–67) ||30–26–11||71
|68||L||March 29, 1967||3–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67) ||30–27–11||71
|69||W||April 1, 1967||5–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1966–67) ||31–27–11||73
|70||W||April 2, 1967||5–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1966–67) ||32–27–11||75
Legend:
Playoffs
|1||L||April 6, 1967||2–5 || || align="left" | @ Chicago Black Hawks || 0–1
|2||W||April 9, 1967||3–1 || || align="left" | @ Chicago Black Hawks || 1–1
|3||W||April 11, 1967||3–1 || || align="left" | Chicago Black Hawks || 2–1
|4||L||April 13, 1967||3–4 || || align="left" | Chicago Black Hawks || 2–2
|5||W||April 15, 1967||4–2 || || align="left" | @ Chicago Black Hawks || 3–2
|6||W||April 18, 1967||3–1 || || align="left" | Chicago Black Hawks || 4–2
|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
Legend:
Player statistics
Forwards 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 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
Defencemen 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 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
Awards and honors Dave Keon, Conn Smythe Trophy 2024 NHL Alumni Association's Keith Magnuson ‘Man of the Year’ award
Transactions The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 1966–67 season.
Trades May 15, 1967To Boston BruinsEddie ShackTo Toronto Maple LeafsMurray Oliver Cash June 1, 1967To New York RangersCashTo Toronto Maple LeafsPete Conacher
Draft picks 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)14 John Wright West Clair Gaels (OHA)210 Cam Crosby Toronto Marlboros (OHA)316 Rick Ley Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)422 Dale MacLeish Peterborough Petes (OHA)
References Maple Leafs on Hockey Database Maple Leafs on Database Hockey