Skip to main content

Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL, 1994-95)

1994-95 Regular Season, Opponent Unknown
     The Toronto Maple Leafs were coming off back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994, resurrecting a franchise that had been mostly a bottom-feeder throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The 1994-95 season started late due to a lockout, and was shortened to 48 games and not starting until January.
     After that second straight conference finals loss, GM Cliff Fletcher shook up the roster. Fletcher dealt longtime Leafs captain Wendel Clark to Quebec for Mats Sundin, a young forward in just his fifth season. While a shocking trade at the time (Clark had just had a career year), the Leafs made out like bandits in the long run, as Sundin spent the next 14 years of his career in Toronto.
     The Leafs stumbled in 1994-95, dropping to fourth place in the Central Division, with a mediocre 21-19-8 record. The team hovered around the .500 mark all year, but was still able to qualify for the playoffs.
     The Leafs scored 135 goals in this shortened season, middle-of-the-pack in the NHL. Sundin led the way on offense, with 23 goals and 47 points.The only other 20-goal scorer was Dave Andreychuk, who chipped in 22. Star forward and new captain Doug Gilmour had a so-so year, with just 10 goals and 33 points.
     Toronto struggled on defense, allowing 146 goals, middle-of-the-pack in the league. The team used only two netminders, Damian Rhodes and Felix Potvin. Potvin was the starter, and went 15-13-7 with a 2.91 GAA. Rhodes played 13 games, going 6-6-1 with a 2.68 GAA.
     The Leafs met the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a rematch from last season. Toronto jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the series, but the Hawks avenged last year's loss by downing the Leafs in 7 games.
     I remember this season as kind of a disappointment. The Leafs had been one of the better teams in the NHL the past two years, but took a step back in 1994-95. There were a few changes to the roster after the semifinal loss, and the team wasn't nearly as good as previous seasons, especially on defense. Felix took a good share of the blame (unfairly, IMO) for the team's decline the next few years.
     I bought this program in Sarnia in 1994. Back then, the Canadian Dollar was much lower in value compared to the US Dollar, so we would go to Canada now and then to shop. This is a 122-page program, almost all in color. Lots of articles here too, including player profiles on Nikolai Borschevsky, Dave Ellett, Mike Gartner, Dmitri Mironov and GM Cliff Fletcher. Felix Potvin was interviewed for this edition, which included a centerspread poster (which hangs on my closet door). Local ads include Becker's Dairy Products, The Toronto Sun, 590 AM The Fan, and Schneiders Meats.

References:
National Hockey League Statistics, 1994-95, from hockeydb.com
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region...
Post a Comment
Read more

Muskegon Mohawks (IHL, 1965-84)

I know, I said earlier I was going to look at Detroit's minor league teams. That would mean the Vipers would be next, but I decided to cover them later when I had time (I have a TON of programs from that team). Instead, I'm going to look briefly at Muskegon.  Muskegon has had a long, colorful past in professional hockey. It all started in 1960 with the expansion Muskegon Zephyrs of the IHL. Five seasons later, 1965-66, the Zephyrs became the Mohawks, and remain so until 1984-85, when they became the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks would remain in town through the 1992-93 season. After that season, the franchise would relocate to Cleveland, Ohio. Here are the Mohawks programs I have, along with a couple bonus scans.        The Mohawks existed from 1965-84, about 20 seasons, and had two vastly different eras of success. From 1965-76, the Mohawks finished above .500 10 times, winning the Huber Trophy (Regular Season Championship) six times and the ...
Post a Comment
Read more