The 1992-93 Toronto Maple Leafs

[whcanuck]

This is the season that anyone who was old enough to remember, remembers as the great return to prominence for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They added Pat Burns as coach, and Cliff Fletcher made a number of shrewd moves to make this team highly competitive, the biggest of course being the addition of Doug Gilmour the year before...who barring a miraculous, almost god-like season from Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh, easily wins the Hart Trophy as league MVP in '92-93.

The team added experienced scorers like Dave Andreychuk and Glenn Anderson, saw the emergence of Felix Potvin in net, and featured one of the game's toughest captains in Wendel Clark.

I was just a little kid back then, hearing only of the Leafs from what I heard from my Dad and older brother...both big Leaf fans. What do you remember as some of the key factors as to why the Leafs had as much success as they did as a team? What were they especially good at? How were they able to overcome an 0-2 deficit to Detroit in the first round and go all the way to game 7 of the Conference Finals?

Lastly, why do you think they came out so flat at home in game 7 of the Kings series? Other than Gretzky going god-mode, I felt that series was there for the taking and they let it slip through their fingers. Still, a great team in Leaf history no doubt, Cup or no Cup.

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[The Panther]

Yeah, good questions. I mean, they were a pretty good team. Cliff Fletcher was a pretty shrewd GM in terms of stocking up on talented and versatile players from all areas (US college, draft, trades, free agents). The good thing was, when he got to Toronto c. 1991, the team had been so bad for so long and was now free of the Ballard-era that Fletcher was sort-of given free reign to do what he wanted... And that was a good thing. A player like Jamie Macoun was just the type the Leafs had needed for many years and either failed to develop or traded away for nothing. Fletcher seemed good at building teams with good power-plays, which I think they had with Andreychuk cleaning up garbage (he never scored better than those first couple of seasons in Toronto). Gilmour as linchpin, of course.

I wasn't following the Detroit series too closely that spring, but I guess the Leafs just wanted it more. I think they knew they probably had the better team, and once they got that first win (game 3?) they didn't look back. That was huge in Ontario. By 1993, the Red Wings had been way better than the Leafs for several years, going back to 1986-87 (maybe 1989-90 being a blip), and had generally owned Toronto (I remember the Wings winning 8-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens, for example).

The L.A. series was really a coin-flip. I don't particularly think the Kings were the better team that spring, but they just got an overtime goal and a heroic Gretzky performance to seal it. An excellent question you pose is why the Leafs came out a bit flat in game seven. I don't know the answer, but it might be two things: 1) Pat Burns' conservative coaching style. I wonder if he hadn't coached the Leafs to be patient and take it slow and defensive in game seven, but then when L.A. got an early lead the system went out the window. Pat Burns' teams weren't always good as coming from behind, which required calculated gambles. And 2) Pressure. Some of those guys hadn't had much playoff experience, and being on home-ice, in front of the whole Canadian audience, in game 7, with the team's first trip to the Finals in 26 years on the line, might have tightened some grips on sticks, etc. Maybe road-advantage for the Kings there.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Potvin was a good goalie, Gilmour had 132 points that year and Andreychuk scored 54 that year with Buffalo and Toronto. They had a good checking line in Berg, Zezel and Osborne. Anderson, Borchevsky and Clark provided some offence up front, and Ellett, Gill and Macoun played lots of minutes on the blueline. Burns was a very good coach. They were great at home (25-11-6) and just ok on the road (19-18-5).

I remember them getting beat pretty badly in the first two games in Detroit, but they won 4 of the next 5, including 2 in Detroit. St.Louis swept a much better Chicago team, and LA was not the best team out of Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Lots of upsets in the playoffs that year, especially in round one.

I don’t remember if they came out flat in game 7, but Gretzky played a great game, later he’d say it was the best game of his career, and the Leafs lost a close one. Of course, everyone knows that got screwed in game 6 on the Gretzky high stick.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

2) Pressure. Some of those guys hadn't had much playoff experience, and being on home-ice, in front of the whole Canadian audience, in game 7, with the team's first trip to the Finals in 26 years on the line, might have tightened some grips on sticks, etc. Maybe road-advantage for the Kings there.

I am sure Potvin as a rookie was feeling the yips but, the Leafs on the whole were a veteran laden team with years of playoff experience. Gilmour, Macoun, Andreychuk, Glenn Anderson, Dave Ellett, Mike Krushelnyski, Peter Zezel and Mike Foligno had played in Game 7's before. In the cases of Anderson, Krushelnyski and Zezel, they played in game 7 of the 1987 Cup. Can't think of a more high pressure cooker than that. Losing game 6 was probably in the back of their minds with the non-call on Gretzky after Toronto came back to tie the game.

The Kings won due to Gretzky taking control. His shorthanded goal took the wind out of Toronto's sails early. I do give Toronto credit for battling back twice to tie it, but Gretzky, bad back and all, was still better than 95% percent of the players in the world at that time of his career.

 

[sr edler]

Gilmour, Macoun, Andreychuk, Glenn Anderson, Dave Ellett, Mike Krushelnyski, Peter Zezel and Mike Foligno had played in Game 7's before.

Andreychuk hadn't been out of the first round of the playoffs with the Sabres in 8 attempts, and only one of those series went 7 games. In 1985 he appeared in a game 5 though when the first round series only went so many games.

 

[NyQuil]

It’s definitely the most hyped non-call in NHL history, and I’m even including the Dallas goal in the crease in the finals.

I don’t understand it myself.

It’s not a given that they would have scored, and with all of the OT elimination games that have occurred, there are a lot of other non-calls out there.

It didn’t even eliminate the Leafs.

 

[streitz]

They were entertaining, but I found them entertaining throughout the 80's as well in a different sort of way. That being said the 93 leafs/wings series was one of the best I've ever seen.


I'm actually very glad they lost to LA, not only because it's funny to still see the leafs complain about it but because of how much more they'd whine when they lost to the HABS in the final.


Either war, both the KINGS and the LEAFS were 1 line teams with poor defense and maybe 1-2 depth players each. Neither should of made it that far quite frankly but the Wings/Flames/Canucks all choked that spring.


The blues never impressed me in that era, especially when they traded Oates for Janney who was a worse player in every way.

 

[streitz]

Andreychuk hadn't been out of the first round of the playoffs with the Sabres in 8 attempts, and only one of those series went 7 games. In 1985 he appeared in a game 5 though when the first round series only went so many games.

Andreychuk wasn't the type of player who ever should of been expected to carry a team. He was a crease man, a very good one at that but not a gamebreaker.

He's one of the last people to fault for the sabres failures during that era.

 

[sr edler]

Andreychuk wasn't the type of player who ever should of been expected to carry a team. He was a crease man, a very good one at that but not a gamebreaker.

He's one of the last people to fault for the sabres failures during that era.

Yeah, I know. My point wasn't to fault Andreychuk for Sabres inability to move past the first round, it was only to point out he didn't have much game 7 experience. He had been to one, and one game 5 when it was the deciding game, and lost both times.

Turgeon and Housley were probably more to blame, as they were the franchise center and the franchise defenseman. Turgeon was a teenager when they played together on the Sabres though. And he had good (PPG) albeit not extraordinary playoff stats in Buffalo, and Housley too.

I find it a bit odd though that from that Sabres trio (Turgeon, Housley, Andreychuk) the best one's not in the HHOF but the two other players are.

 

[streitz]

Yeah, I know. My point wasn't to fault Andreychuk for Sabres inability to move past the first round, it was only to point out he didn't have much game 7 experience. He had been to one, and one game 5 when it was the deciding game, and lost both times.

Turgeon and Housley were probably more to blame, as they were the franchise center and the franchise defenseman. Turgeon was a teenager when they played together on the Sabres though. And he had good (PPG) albeit not extraordinary playoff stats in Buffalo, and Housley too.

I find it a bit odd though that from that Sabres trio (Turgeon, Housley, Andreychuk) the best one's not in the HHOF but the two other players are.

Frankly I liked Andreychuk, couldn't stand Housley on the Jets and I was never a fan of Turgeon but he was very skilled. That being said I wouldn't put any of them in the HHOF.


I also misread your post earlier but either way those sabres teams had alot of problems, even with Bowman coaching till 87 they had alot of problems.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

what i remember about that leafs team is they had a lovable, tough defensive rock on each pairing. macoun playing the best hockey of his life on the top pair, lefebvre overqualified for the second pair, and an aging rouse overqualified for the third pair.

and each pair also had a guy who was... not a defensive rock. i believe it was todd gill paired with macoun, ellett with lefebvre, and dmitri mironov with rouse.

that also was not a d-corps i'd want to get into a brawl with. rouse and gill could go with heavyweights if they had to, and of course wendel clark was on that team too.

 

[GlitchMarner]

The first NHL game I watched (as far as I can remember) was actually game seven of the TOR/LA series in 1993. All these years later, I haven't seen the Maple Leafs get any closer to the Cup than they were in 1993 (though they made it game six of the ECF in 2002).

The '93 team is fondly remembered because it was a scrappy, gritty team and a refreshing change for an organization that had been a joke for years and obviously because of how far it went in the playoffs.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Yeah, I know. My point wasn't to fault Andreychuk for Sabres inability to move past the first round, it was only to point out he didn't have much game 7 experience. He had been to one, and one game 5 when it was the deciding game, and lost both times.

Turgeon and Housley were probably more to blame, as they were the franchise center and the franchise defenseman. Turgeon was a teenager when they played together on the Sabres though. And he had good (PPG) albeit not extraordinary playoff stats in Buffalo, and Housley too.

I find it a bit odd though that from that Sabres trio (Turgeon, Housley, Andreychuk) the best one's not in the HHOF but the two other players are.

Only a matter of time until Turgeon gets in.

 

[streitz]

The first NHL game I watched (as far as I can remember) was actually game seven of the TOR/LA series in 1993.

Probably 75% of leaf fans I've ever met have said this or game 6.

 

[Vanzig]

Had GRETZKY not Stole the Sghow in that GAME 7 with (3-1-4) on his Teams 5 Goals then I think the LEAFS might have beaten MONTREAL!!! The thing is CLARKE was Hurt a lot but they way he played it’s no wonder, Very few guy’s today play the way a lot of players played back then and with such crap equipment!!!
I think when POTVIN left the Leafs he was Never the same and kind of was an Underachiver. But the LEAFS in 1992-93 and 1993-94 had they gone that extra mile and been Healkthy and had a little more luck in the those Playoffs might have snagged a CUP.

 

[The Panther]

Yeah, has there ever been a poll of something about if the Leafs had made to the Finals in 1993, as in "Who woulda won"?

Toronto seemed like the kind of team that could really stifle Montreal's deep line-up, and as I recall they played well against the Habs that season.

Tough to call, but the Patrick Roy factor so over-shadows Felix Potvin that it's hard for me to call it for Toronto.

I saw a hilarious TSN interview with Jacques Demers once where the host (jokingly) asked: "Final question, Jacques -- if the Leafs had made it to the Finals in 1993, do you think the Habs would have won even one game against them?"

Jacques turned red and said, "What kind of STUPID question is that??!"

 

[tony d]

Quite the yr. for Toronto. Got to think that Toronto team puts up more of a fight in the finals than LA did. Good return to prominence for Toronto which lasted for about 4 more yrs.

 

[The Panther]

Got to think that Toronto team puts up more of a fight in the finals than LA did.

Did you watch that Finals? L.A. spanked Montreal in game one, were winning game two until there were 30 seconds left (losing the win on a silly call), and out-played Montreal in games three and four (ref missing Carbonneau closing his hand on the puck in the crease with about 5 seconds left in one game). The Kings didn't lose any of game one, two, three, or four in three periods. After four games, the aggregate score was 11-11.

 

[FerrisRox]

Either war, both the KINGS and the LEAFS were 1 line teams with poor defense

This is completely false. First of all, Pat Burns doesn't coach teams with poor defense, that's just silly. He coached teams that played disciplined defensive hockey. Sylvain Lefevbre was an excellent defensive defenseman that Pat Burns used very effectively while veterans Jamie Macoun, Dave Ellett, Bob Rouse and Todd Gill made up a solid if unspectacular core. Dimitri Mirinov was the only member of their blueline that wasn't extremely capable in their own zone. (Well, Todd Gill can't really be described as "extremely capable" but he definitely played the best hockey of his career that year as a two way defender.)

There were definitely things you could criticize about this team - it lacked depth up front and was pretty boring to watch when Gilmour wasn't on the ice but they were far from poor defensively. Felix Potvin, with a 2.50 goals against average led the entire NHL. Their was only one other goalie in the entire league with a GAA lower than three.

 

[Langdon Alger]

It’s definitely the most hyped non-call in NHL history, and I’m even including the Dallas goal in the crease in the finals.

I don’t understand it myself.

It’s not a given that they would have scored, and with all of the OT elimination games that have occurred, there are a lot of other non-calls out there.

It didn’t even eliminate the Leafs.

A lot of it was due to the fact that Gretzky should have been thrown out. That was the rule at the time with high sticking. 5 and a game. Bure got thrown out of a game in the finals the next year for a high stick on Jay Wells I think. I mean, it should have been called. Fraser likely saw it and didn’t call it because it was Gretzky. That and he probably didn’t want to put the Kings in such a hole in an elimination game.

No guarantee the Leafs score like you say, but a five minute powerplay in OT and Gretzky out of the game? I like the Leafs chances.

 

[The Panther]

Fraser likely saw it and didn’t call it because it was Gretzky. That and he probably didn’t want to put the Kings in such a hole in an elimination game.

I doubt that. Fraser was notorious for putting on his big-boy pants and challenging star players, and he thought nothing of calling 8 penalties in a row against one team (unlike every other ref of the era who tried to "balance it out"). As early as 1981-82, Fraser had tossed Gretzky out of a game with a misconduct. Wasn't it during 1992-93 that he tossed Mario out of a game, and Lemieux had to be physically restrained from killing him on the ice?

The truth is, he just missed Gilmour skating into Gretzky's follow-through. Probably 30 worse incidents were also missed during that series, as was the standard of the time.

 

[streitz]

This is completely false. First of all, Pat Burns doesn't coach teams with poor defense, that's just silly. He coached teams that played disciplined defensive hockey. Sylvain Lefevbre was an excellent defensive defenseman that Pat Burns used very effectively while veterans Jamie Macoun, Dave Ellett, Bob Rouse and Todd Gill made up a solid if unspectacular core.

First of all you can have a good defensive coach, coaching a poor defensive team if the team has crap defensemen.

Second of all, you're actually right and I completely forgot they picked up Ellet,Rouse and Macoun when reading this thread. Was mostly thinking of the 80's leafs blueline.

 

[FerrisRox]

Fraser likely saw it and didn’t call it because it was Gretzky.

This is such nonsense.

 

[danincanada]

I have to admit, I really despised that team. Since I was younger maybe even more than the late 90's Avs or the '07 to '09 Ducks. I was a young Red Wings fan living in the Toronto area so there was extra frustration to see the plucky Leafs knock out my team, who at times appeared to be far more talented. The Leafs got a lot of confidence from that first round victory and just kept going.

Burns really made that team come together, including their 6 defenseman. Ellett was probably their best two-way defenseman while Rouse, Macoun, and Lefebvre were all very good defensively, with Gill and Mironov rounding out the top 6 so Burns actually had a lot to work with but he also got the most out of them. Watching Gill before Burns came I would have never expected he could be as solid as he became under Burns. Gilmour thrived under Burns and the spotlight in Toronto. At the time it was sickening to watch for me.

 

[FerrisRox]

Watching Gill before Burns came I would have never expected he could be as solid as he became under Burns.

No player other than Gilmour benefited from Burns' arrival more than Todd Gill.

He went from an absolute turnstile on defense to a valued part of their blueline for '93 and '94. He was, however, a guy that seemed to believe his own press clippings, because after a couple of years of good play his confidence began to outstrip his abilities and warts began to develop in his game.