Retrospective: Toronto Maple Leafs of the 1980s

If measured by decades, the 1980s represent what might be the lowest point in Leafs history. The 1970s saw the Leafs go without a Stanley Cup, but the 1980s saw the team fail to finish a season with more wins than losses. The team managed to survive the ownership of Harold Ballard in the 70s, largely thanks to strong drafting and creative signings from GM Jim Gregory. 

In 1979, Gregory was fired, and Ballard brought back Punch Imlach for another stint as GM. Though Imlach had brought the Leafs to glory in the past, his final tenure with the Leafs would be disastrous. Imlach seemed to amplify and empower the most corrosive aspects of Ballard, feuding with star players like Lanny McDonald and Darryl Sittler, ultimately leading to their exits. The Leafs became something of a sideshow, authoring one of the most embarrassing decades for any original six franchise. 

Coaches and GMs would be a revolving door, though the silver lining is that the Leafs were afforded some high draft picks. Unfortunately, between the losing and Ballard’s frugal approach, many of these young players moved on before achieving much with the Leafs. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what an all-decade team would look like for the Leafs of the 1980s.

Forwards

Clark—Derlago—Vaive

Leeman—Damphousse—Olczyk

Martin—Courtnall—Paiement

Frycer—Fregus—Anderson

Surprisingly, the Leafs have some decent centre depth here. Vincent Damphousse and Russ Courtnall had their best seasons in other cities, but did more than enough to earn spots here. Bill Derlago might not have been as impressive an NHLer, but all his best work came with the Leafs. 

The iconic star power lies on the wings, as Rick Vaive, Wendel Clark, and Eddie Olczyk lead the attack. Gary Leeman, Wilf Paiement, John Anderson, and Terry Martin provide some decent depth. In all, it’s fairly evident that forwards were not the Leafs’ main issue in this dreadful era. 

Defence

Iafrate—Salming

Gill—Benning

Farrish—Lanz 

Borje Salming is the headliner, but Al Iafrate is right alongside as a clear staple. There is a lack of high-end options beyond these two, and clearly some faults, as only one of these six defencemen shoots right. 

Todd Gill, Dave Farrish, and Rick Lanz all had notable Leaf tenures, getting credit for longevity. Former GM Jim Benning carried over some absurd production in the WHL to a good start to his career with the Leafs. 

Goalies

Allan Bester 

Ken Wregget

While the defence for this all-decade team is underwhelming, the goaltending was clearly an issue. There was no long-term starter throughout the decade, and often goalies were left out to dry altogether. Allan Bester and Ken Wregget had the longest tenures, both breaking into the league behind a questionable defensive team. Neither really had much of a chance to succeed with the Leafs, and the run-and-gun style of the 1980s did them no favours. 

Legacy

While legends like GM Jim Gregory and coach Roger Neilson helped keep the Ballard Leafs afloat during the 1970s, the 1980s would bear the effects of his mismanagement. Ballard took more and more power, skimped on more and more expenses, was involved with more and more feuds and scandals, and the team lost along the way. A carousel of GMs and coaches were handcuffed to the sinking ship. All the while, the Leafs sold out every game. This cemented the Leafs’ popularity in a sense, so beloved by the city that even Ballard could not put a wedge between the team he owned and the people who supported them. 

From an on-ice perspective, it is interesting to consider the makeup of the team, or rather the identity of the Leafs as a whole. The 1980s all-decade team has some notable forwards, not far off the Leaf teams of the 1960s and 1970s. The biggest differences come from the blueline and the goalies, or rather, the team’s ability to limit goals against as a whole. The Leafs glory was powered by a strong defensive identity. 

It seems nearly impossible that the Leafs could have won a Stanley Cup with Ballard as the sole owner, accounting for roughly 20 years of the Leafs championship drought. Ballard would pass away in 1990, leaving his partner and children to sort through his estate, their prior legal battles, and the Leafs as a whole. It would not take the Leafs long to become a relevant team after the change of ownership.