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Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL, 1987-88)

1987-88 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings
     To say the least, the 1980s were the "dark ages" for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The last decade of the Harold Ballard ownership era saw the Leafs fail to advance past the second round of the playoffs and never finish over .500. The team would have talented players here and there (Wendel Clark, Russ Courtnall, Rick Vaive, to name a few) but would have little else throughout the roster, due to front office incompetence. In numerous cases, the Leafs would have a miserable season, but stagger into the postseason due to the NHL's playoff format that saw 16 of the 21 teams qualify.
     Case in point, the 1987-88 edition of the "Maple Laughs". After advancing to Game 7 of the second round for two straight seasons, it appeared the Leafs were on the rise. Of course, that did not happen, as the Leafs, led by fiery head coach John Brophy, had a truly awful season. "Brophy's Boys" finished next-to-last in the overall standings, with a laughable 21-49-10 record. Despite such a horrid record, the Leafs qualified for the playoffs by finishing in fourth place in the mediocre Norris Division, just one point ahead of last place Minnesota. Maple Leaf Gardens remained jam packed as always, as the die-hard Leafs fans averaged 16,358 per game that year, despite the poor on-ice product.
     Toronto iced the fifth-worst offense in the NHL in 1987-88, scoring just 273 goals. They were led by Ed Olczyk (future NHL on NBC analyst), who was acquired from Chicago during the offseason. Eddie scored 42 goals and 75 points in all 80 games in his first season in Toronto. Gary Leeman was the only other Leaf to score over 30 goals, as he potted an even 30. Mark Osborne (23), Al Iafrate (22) and Russ Courtnall (23) scored over 20 on the season. Power forward Wendel Clark battled back problems for most of the season, and played in just 28 games, scoring 12 goals and 23 points.
     The Maple Leafs were even worse on defense, getting burnt for 345 goals, third-highest in the NHL. Ken Wregget was the #1 goaltender that year, enduring 56 games behind a weak defense. Wregget went 12-35-4 with a 4.44 GAA and 2 shutouts, also picking up 5 assists! His backup was Allan Bester, who Don Cherry once said "saw more rubber than a dead skunk on the Trans-Canada Highway". Bester played in 30 games, sporting a 8-12-5 mark and a decent 3.81 GAA with 2 shutouts. Rookie Jeff Reese played in 5 games, going 1-2-1 with a 4.10 GAA. The Leafs had some talent on the blueline, including future Iafrate, Luke Richardson, Todd Gill, and future Hall of Famer Borje Salming. Most of the team was deep in the minus section of +/-, led by Richardson with an ugly -25.
     Despite holding the sixth overall pick in the 1988 NHL Draft, the Leafs were able to stumble into the postseason. They faced the Norris Division Champion Detroit Red Wings in Round 1, a team that the Leafs fell to in the second round last season. The Leafs stunned the Wings in Game 1, a 6-2 rout in Detroit, but fell in six games.
     This is a very nice program, that is loaded with interesting articles and great photos from the Leafs' glory years. About half of the 88 pages are in black and white. Ed Olczyk is featured on the cover, and Wendel Clark and Dan Daoust are profiled on pages 66 and 69, respectively. The Molson Cup, which was awarded to the player with the most 3-star selections, is referenced on the cover. According to the final standings on page 37, Ken Wregget won the award.
     This program is from the first round playoff series between the Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on April 10, 1988. The Wings had a 2-1 lead in the series, heading into the critical Game 4. In front of a sellout crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens, the Wings embarrassed the Leafs, 8-0, outshooting them 38-21 in the process, to take a 3-1 series lead. Ken Wregget was in goal for the Leafs that night.
     Toronto would win Game 5 in overtime back at Detroit, but the Red Wings finished the Leafs off in Game 6 at the Gardens.
     Local advertisements included in this program are from National Bank of Canada, The All-Star Eatery, the Toronto Area Jeep and Eagle Dealers, Bell Cellular (featuring ex-Leaf Darryl Sittler) and Emery Worldwide (the official air-shipping company of the NHL).

Aftermath: John Brophy would be fired 33 games into the 1988-89 season, and the Leafs would miss the playoffs by four points. The franchise would not get back on track until the early 1990s, a few years after owner Harold Ballard passed away. 
References:
National Hockey League Season Statistics: 1987-88. from hockeydb.com

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