2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs season is the franchise's 93rd, and their 83rd as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs had not qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs since the 2003–04 season, and began the regular season with its worst start in franchise history by going winless in the first eight games.

2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs
Division	5th Northeast
Conference	15th Eastern
2009–10 record	30–38–14
Home record	18–17–6
Road record	12–21–8
Goals for	214
Goals against	267
Team information
General manager	Brian Burke
Coach	Ron Wilson
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Francois Beauchemin Tomas Kaberle Mike Komisarek Dion Phaneuf (Mar.–Apr.)
Arena	Air Canada Centre
Average attendance	19,260 (102.5%)
Team leaders
Goals	Phil Kessel (30)
Assists	Tomas Kaberle (42)
Points	Phil Kessel (55)
Penalty minutes	Colton Orr (239)
Plus/minus	Carl Gunnarsson (8)
Wins	Jonas Gustavsson (16)
Goals against average	Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2.49)
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

Team business

The team moved to a new practice facility, the MasterCard Centre, from their former practice facility, the Lakeshore Lions Arena. Built next door to the old arena, the new facility has four ice sheets, allowing the Maple Leafs and their farm team the Toronto Marlies to practice simultaneously on separate sheets.

Off-season

At the 2009 NHL entry draft, the Maple Leafs chose centre Nazem Kadri with their first round pick, seventh overall.

In free agency, the Maple Leafs signed two defencemen of note – Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens and Francois Beauchemin of the Anaheim Ducks, signing both to multiple-year deals. At the same time, defenceman Pavel Kubina was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for fellow defenceman Garnet Exelby. The Leafs also signed free agents Colton Orr and Tim Brent.

After extensive talks, the Leafs were able to sign highly regarded Swedish free agent goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who was considering offers from several NHL teams.

The Leafs dealt for Boston Bruins' forward Phil Kessel, trading two first round draft picks and a second round draft pick. Kessel started the season on the injured list as he was recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery.

Pre-season

2009 Pre-season Game Log: 6–3–0 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–1–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Attendance	Record	Points
1	September 16	Boston Bruins	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs	16,872	0–1–0	0
2	September 17 (in London, ON)	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–0	Philadelphia Flyers	9,099	1–1–0	2
3	September 18	Toronto Maple Leafs	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	16,621	2–1–0	4
4	September 19	Philadelphia Flyers	5–4 (OT)	Toronto Maple Leafs	18,609	3–1–0	6
5	September 22	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–2 (SO)	Toronto Maple Leafs	18,910	4–1–0	8
6	September 23	Toronto Maple Leafs	2–3	Buffalo Sabres	11,008	4–2–0	8
7	September 25	Toronto Maple Leafs	5–4 (SO)	Detroit Red Wings	14,399	5–2–0	10
8	September 26	Detroit Red Wings	2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs	18,825	6–2–0	12
9	September 27	Buffalo Sabres	6–7	Toronto Maple Leafs	18,388	6–3–0	12

Regular season

The Leafs got off to a slow start to the NHL season, with a record of 0–7–1, the worst start for the Leafs since the NHL formed in 1917. Additionally, the Leafs surrendered the first goal to their opposition in each of their first 11 games, and 17 of their first 19 games.

The Leafs struggled on the power play during the regular season, finishing 30th in power-play percentage, at just 13.97% (44 for 315). They also struggled on the penalty kill, allowing the most power-play goals in the League, with 73, and having the lowest penalty-kill percentage, at 74.65%.^[1]

Divisional standings

Northeast Division^[2]

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – Buffalo Sabres	82	45	27	10	235	207	100
2	Ottawa Senators	82	44	32	6	225	238	94
3	Boston Bruins	82	39	30	13	206	200	91
4	Montreal Canadiens	82	39	33	10	217	223	88
5	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	38	14	214	263	74

Conference standings

Eastern Conference^[3]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Washington Capitals	SE	82	54	15	13	318	233	121
2	y – New Jersey Devils	AT	82	48	27	7	222	191	103
3	y – Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	45	27	10	235	207	100
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	47	28	7	257	237	101
5	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	32	6	225	238	94
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	206	200	91
7	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	41	35	6	236	225	88
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	39	33	10	217	223	88
8.5
9	New York Rangers	AT	82	38	33	11	222	218	87
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	35	34	13	234	256	83
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	35	37	10	230	256	80
12	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	34	36	12	217	260	80
13	New York Islanders	AT	82	34	37	11	222	264	79
14	Florida Panthers	SE	82	32	37	13	208	244	77
15	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	30	38	14	214	267	74

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Game log

2009–10 Game Log
October: 1–7–4 (Home: 0–4–1; Road: 1–3–3) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 1 October 1 Montreal Canadiens 3–4 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,617 0–0–1 1 2 October 3 @ Washington Capitals 4–6 Verizon Center 18,277 0–1–1 1 3 October 6 Ottawa Senators 1–2 Air Canada Centre 18,830 0–2–1 1 4 October 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Air Canada Centre 19,374 0–3–1 1 5 October 12 @ New York Rangers 2–7 Madison Square Garden 18,200 0–4–1 1 6 October 13 Colorado Avalanche 1–4 Air Canada Centre 19,148 0–5–1 1 7 October 17 New York Rangers 1–4 Air Canada Centre 19,295 0–6–1 1 8 October 24 @ Vancouver Canucks 1–3 GM Place 18,810 0–7–1 1 9 October 26 @ Anaheim Ducks 6–3 Honda Center 14,291 1–7–1 3 10 October 28 @ Dallas Stars 3–4 (OT) American Airlines Center 16,302 1–7–2 4 11 October 30 @ Buffalo Sabres 2–3 (OT) HSBC Arena 18,300 1–7–3 5 12 October 31 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–5 (SO) Bell Centre 21,273 1–7–4 6
November: 5–5–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 3–2–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 13 November 3 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–2 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,301 1–7–5 7 14 November 6 @ Carolina Hurricanes 3–2 RBC Center 14,164 2–7–5 9 15 November 7 † Detroit Red Wings 5–1 Air Canada Centre 19,303 3–7–5 11 16 November 10 Minnesota Wild 2–5 Air Canada Centre 19,063 3–8–5 11 17 November 13 @ Chicago Blackhawks 2–3 United Center 21,036 3–9–5 11 18 November 14 Calgary Flames 2–5 Air Canada Centre 19,316 3–10–5 11 19 November 17 @ Ottawa Senators 2–3 Scotiabank Place 17,406 3–11–5 11 20 November 19 @ Carolina Hurricanes 5–6 (SO) RBC Centre 13,502 3–11–6 12 21 November 21 Washington Capitals 2–1 (SO) Air Canada Centre 19,455 4–11–6 14 22 November 23 New York Islanders 3–4 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,263 4–11–7 15 23 November 25 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,333 5–11–7 17 24 November 27 @ Florida Panthers 6–4 BankAtlantic Center 16,101 6–11–7 19 25 November 30 Buffalo Sabres 0–3 Air Canada Centre 19,110 6–12–7 19
December: 8–6–2 (Home: 5–1–2; Road: 3–5–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 26 December 1 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–0 Bell Centre 21,273 7–12–7 21 27 December 3 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 6–3 Nationwide Arena 13,825 8–12–7 23 28 December 5 @ Boston Bruins 2–7 TD Garden 17,565 8–13–7 23 29 December 7 Atlanta Thrashers 5–2 Air Canada Centre 19,050 9–13–7 25 30 December 9 New York Islanders 3–2 Air Canada Centre 19,102 10–13–7 27 31 December 10 @ Boston Bruins 2–5 TD Garden 17,565 10–14–7 27 32 December 12 Washington Capitals 6–3 Air Canada Centre 19,316 11–14–7 29 33 December 14 Ottawa Senators 3–2 Air Canada Centre 19,315 12–14–7 31 34 December 16 Phoenix Coyotes 3–6 Air Canada Centre 19,088 12–15–7 31 35 December 18 @ Buffalo Sabres 2–5 HSBC Arena 18,159 12–16–7 31 36 December 19 Boston Bruins 2–0 Air Canada Centre 19,101 13–16–7 33 37 December 21 Buffalo Sabres 2–3 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,235 13–16–8 34 38 December 23 @ New York Islanders 1–3 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,865 13–17–8 34 39 December 26 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,250 13–17–9 35 40 December 27 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 Mellon Arena 17,132 14–17–9 37 41 December 30 @ Edmonton Oilers 1–3 Rexall Place 16,839 14–18–9 37
January: 3–10–2 (Home: 2–4–0; Road: 1–6–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 42 January 2 @ Calgary Flames 1–3 Pengrowth Saddledome 19,289 14–19–9 37 43 January 5 Florida Panthers 3–2 Air Canada Centre 18,984 15–19–9 39 44 January 6 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2–6 Wachovia Center 19,617 15–20–9 39 45 January 8 @ Buffalo Sabres 2–3 HSBC Arena 18,690 15–21–9 39 46 January 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Air Canada Centre 19,567 15–22–9 39 47 January 12 Carolina Hurricanes 2–4 Air Canada Centre 19,120 15–23–9 39 48 January 14 Philadelphia Flyers 4–0 Air Canada Centre 19,370 16–23–9 41 49 January 15 @ Washington Capitals 1–6 Verizon Center 18,277 16–24–9 41 50 January 18 @ Nashville Predators 4–3 Sommet Center 16,501 17–24–9 43 51 January 19 @ Atlanta Thrashers 3–4 Philips Arena 10,208 17–25–9 43 52 January 21 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2–3 (OT) St. Pete Times Forum 13,691 17–25–10 44 53 January 23 @ Florida Panthers 0–2 BankAtlantic Center 18,087 17–26–10 44 54 January 26 Los Angeles Kings 3–5 Air Canada Centre 19,322 17–27–10 44 55 January 29 @ New Jersey Devils 4–5 (OT) Prudential Center 15,536 17–27–11 45 56 January 30 Vancouver Canucks 3–5 Air Canada Centre 19,534 17–28–11 45
February: 2–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 0–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 57 February 2 New Jersey Devils 3–0 Air Canada Centre 19,326 18–28–11 47 58 February 5 @ New Jersey Devils 3–4 Prudential Center 15,204 18–29–11 47 59 February 6 Ottawa Senators 5–0 Air Canada Centre 19,426 19–29–11 49 60 February 8 San Jose Sharks 2–3 Air Canada Centre 19,460 19–30–11 49 61 February 12 @ St. Louis Blues 0–4 Scottrade Center 19,150 19–31–11 49
March: 9–5–2 (Home: 6–3–0; Road: 3–2–2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 62 March 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1–5 Air Canada Centre 19,096 19–32–11 49 63 March 4 @ Boston Bruins 2–3 (SO) TD Garden 17,565 19–32–12 50 64 March 6 @ Ottawa Senators 2–1 (SO) Scotiabank Place 20,036 20–32–12 52 65 March 7 @ Philadelphia Flyers 1–3 Wachovia Center 19,632 20–33–12 52 66 March 9 Boston Bruins 4–3 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,499 21–33–12 54 67 March 11 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,110 22–33–12 56 68 March 13 Edmonton Oilers 6–4 Air Canada Centre 19,243 23–33–12 58 69 March 14 @ New York Islanders 1–4 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,804 23–34–12 58 70 March 16 @ Ottawa Senators 4–1 Scotiabank Place 20,405 24–34–12 60 71 March 18 New Jersey Devils 2–1 (SO) Air Canada Centre 19,183 25–34–12 62 72 March 20 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 (SO) Air Canada Centre 19,538 26–34–12 64 73 March 23 Florida Panthers 1–4 Air Canada Centre 19,158 26–35–12 64 74 March 25 @ Atlanta Thrashers 2–1 (OT) Philips Arena 14,148 27–35–12 66 75 March 27 New York Rangers 3–2 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,405 28–35–12 68 76 March 28 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 (SO) Mellon Arena 17,104 28–35–13 69 77 March 30 Atlanta Thrashers 2–3 Air Canada Centre 19,079 28–36–13 69
April: 2–2–1 (Home: 1–1–1; Road: 1–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 78 April 1 Buffalo Sabres 4–2 Air Canada Centre 19,090 29–36–13 71 79 April 3 Boston Bruins 1–2 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,273 29–36–14 72 80 April 6 Philadelphia Flyers 0–2 Air Canada Centre 19,366 29–37–14 72 81 April 7 @ New York Rangers 1–5 Madison Square Garden 18,200 29–38–14 72 82 April 10 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–3 (OT) Bell Centre 21,273 30–38–14 74
† Hockey Hall of Fame Game
Schedule

Playoffs

The Toronto Maple Leafs were trying to achieve their first qualification since the 2003–04 NHL season, however they were mathematically eliminated after their 77th game. They were the first team eliminated in the Eastern Conference. Currently, only the Florida Panthers have failed to qualify for the playoffs for more consecutive years.

Player statistics

Final stats^[4]

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM Phil Kessel 70 30 25 55 −8 21 Tomas Kaberle 82 7 42 49 −16 24 Alexei Ponikarovsky‡ 61 19 22 41 5 44 Matt Stajan‡ 55 16 25 41 −3 30 Nikolai Kulemin 78 16 20 36 0 16 Mikhail Grabovski 59 10 25 35 3 10 Niklas Hagman‡ 55 20 13 33 −3 23 Lee Stempniak‡ 62 14 16 30 −10 18 Tyler Bozak 37 8 19 27 −5 6 Jason Blake‡ 56 10 16 26 −4 26 Ian White‡ 56 9 17 26 1 39 Francois Beauchemin 82 5 21 26 −13 33 John Mitchell 60 6 17 23 −7 31 Luke Schenn 79 5 12 17 2 50 Carl Gunnarsson 43 3 12 15 8 10 Viktor Stalberg 40 9 5 14 −13 30 Jeff Finger 39 2 8 10 −11 20 Dion Phaneuf† 26 2 8 10 −2 34 Rickard Wallin 60 2 7 9 −7 20 Wayne Primeau 59 3 5 8 −1 35 Jamal Mayers‡ 44 2 6 8 −5 78 Christian Hanson 31 2 5 7 −2 16 Colton Orr 82 4 2 6 −4 239 Luca Caputi† 19 1 5 6 0 10 Fredrik Sjostrom† 19 2 3 5 −4 4 Garnet Exelby 51 1 3 4 −8 73 Mike Komisarek 34 0 4 4 −9 40 Jamie Lundmark† 15 1 2 3 −1 16 Jay Rosehill 15 1 1 2 −2 67 Tim Brent 1 0 0 0 0 0 Andre Deveaux 1 0 0 0 −1 0 Nazem Kadri 1 0 0 0 −1 0 Brayden Irwin 2 0 0 0 0 2 Jiri Tlusty‡ 2 0 0 0 −2 0

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Jonas Gustavsson	42	39	2340	16	15	9	112	2.87	1146	.902	1	0	2	2
Vesa Toskala‡	26	23	1393	7	12	3	85	3.66	676	.874	1	0	0	4
Jean-Sebastien Giguere†	15	15	915	6	7	2	38	2.49	451	.916	2	0	0	0
Joey MacDonald‡	6	5	319	1	4	0	17	3.20	157	.892	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Maple Leafs. Stats reflect time with Maple Leafs only.
^‡Traded mid-season.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Regular season
Player	Milestone	Reached

Awards

Regular Season
Player	Award	Awarded
Tomas Kaberle[5]	NHL First Star of the Week	November 2, 2009
Niklas Hagman[6]	NHL Third Star of the Week	November 30, 2009
Jean-Sebastien Giguere[7]	NHL Second Star of the Week	February 8, 2010

Transactions

The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

Trades

Date	Details
July 1, 2009 [8]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Garnet Exelby Colin Stuart	To Atlanta Thrashers Pavel Kubina Tim Stapleton
July 27, 2009 [9]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Wayne Primeau 2nd-round pick in 2011	To Calgary Flames Anton Stralman Colin Stuart 7th-round pick in 2012
August 10, 2009 [10]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Conditional 6th-round pick in 2011[a]	To Anaheim Ducks Justin Pogge
September 6, 2009	To Toronto Maple Leafs 2nd-round pick in 2010	To Chicago Blackhawks 2nd-round pick in 2011 3rd-round pick in 2011
September 18, 2009[11]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Phil Kessel	To Boston Bruins 1st-round pick in 2010 1st-round pick in 2011 2nd-round pick in 2010
December 3, 2009[12]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Philippe Paradis	To Carolina Hurricanes Jiri Tlusty
January 31, 2010[13]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dion Phaneuf Fredrik Sjostrom Keith Aulie	To Calgary Flames Matt Stajan Jamal Mayers Niklas Hagman Ian White
January 31, 2010[13]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Jean-Sebastien Giguere	To Anaheim Ducks Vesa Toskala Jason Blake
March 2, 2010[14]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Luca Caputi Martin Skoula	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alexei Ponikarovsky
March 3, 2010[15]	To Toronto Maple Leafs 5th-round pick in 2010	To New Jersey Devils Martin Skoula
March 3, 2010[16]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Matt Jones 4th-round pick in 2010 7th-round pick in 2010	To Phoenix Coyotes Lee Stempniak
March 3, 2010[17]	To Toronto Maple Leafs 7th-round pick in 2011	To Anaheim Ducks Joey MacDonald
March 3, 2010[18]	To Toronto Maple Leafs Chris Peluso	To Pittsburgh Penguins 6th-round pick in 2010

Condition satisfied. Free agents acquired Player Former team Contract terms Mike Komisarek[19] Montreal Canadiens 5 years, $22.5 million Colton Orr[20] New York Rangers 4 years, $4 million Jay Rosehill[21] Toronto Marlies 2 years Tim Brent[21] Chicago Blackhawks 1 year Richard Greenop[21] Chicago Blackhawks 3-year entry-level contract Francois Beauchemin[22] Anaheim Ducks 3 years, $11.4 million Jonas Gustavsson[23] Farjestad BK 1 year, $900,000 Rickard Wallin[24] Farjestad BK 1 year Joey MacDonald[25] New York Islanders 1 year Brayden Irwin[26] University of Vermont 2-year entry-level contract

Free agents lost Player New team Contract terms Jaime Sifers[27] Minnesota Wild 1 year Jay Harrison[28] Carolina Hurricanes 1 year, $500K 2-way contract Kris Newbury[29] Detroit Red Wings 1 year, 2-way contract Jeremy Williams[29] Detroit Red Wings 1 year, 2-way contract Martin Gerber[30] Atlant Moscow Oblast 1 year Jeff Hamilton[31] HC Lugano 1 year Ryan Hollweg[32] Phoenix Coyotes 1 year Brad May[33] Detroit Red Wings 1 year, $500K

Claimed via waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers Jamie Lundmark[34] Calgary Flames February 13, 2010

Lost via waivers Player New team Date claimed off waivers

Lost via retirement Player Olaf Kolzig[35] Curtis Joseph[36] Player signings Player Contract terms Mikhail Grabovski[37] 3 years, $8.7 million Nazem Kadri[38] 3-year entry-level contract Ben Ondrus[21] 1 year Ryan Hamilton[21] 1 year Andre Deveaux[39] 1 year Darryl Boyce[40] 2 years Alex Foster[40] 1 year Justin Pogge[41] 1 year, $605,000 Phil Kessel[42] 5 years, $27 million Jesse Blacker[43] 3-year entry-level contract Jonas Gustavsson[44] 2 years, $2.7 million contract extension

Draft picks

Jesse Blacker was a Maple Leafs second pick in round two

Toronto's picks at the 2009 NHL entry draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (League)
1	7	Nazem Kadri	C	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
2	50 (from NY Rangers)	Kenny Ryan	RW	United States	Boston College (Hockey East)
2	58 (from Carolina via Edmonton and Buffalo)	Jesse Blacker	D	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
3	68	Jamie Devane	LW	Canada	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
4	118 (From Carolina via Tampa Bay)	Forfeited because of Jonas Frogren contract
5	128	Eric Knodel	D	United States	Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (AYHL)
6	158	Jerry D'Amigo	RW	United States	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)
7	188	Barron Smith	(D)	United States	Peterborough Petes (OHL)

See also

• 2009–10 NHL season

Farm teams

• The Maple Leafs continue their affiliation with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and the Reading Royals of the ECHL.