1944–45 Toronto Maple Leafs season


The 1944–45 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the club's 28th season in the NHL. Toronto finished in third place in the regular season, with a 24–22–4 record, earning 52 points. The Leafs eliminated their archrivals Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, and then defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the 1945 Stanley Cup Finals.

Regular season

Toronto was a very streaky club during the regular season, where they started off very hot, winning their first six games, and 10 of their first 14, before a mid-season slump, when they managed a 5–10–2 record in 17 games. The Leafs would continue to be a streaky club for the remainder of the year, which included a five-game winning streak, and a seven-game winless streak. Overall, the Maple Leafs managed to end the season with a 24–22–4 record, earning 52 points, and third place in the NHL standings.
The Leafs offense was led teenage superstar Ted Kennedy, who turned 19 during the season, and had a club high 29 goals and 54 points. Gus Bodnar, who was also 19 years old, led the club with 36 assists, while Lorne Carr put together another solid season, scoring 21 goals and adding 25 assists for 46 points. Sweeney Schriner, who only appeared in 26 games, managed to score 22 goals and 37 points. Babe Pratt led the Leafs defense, scoring 18 goals and 41 points, while fellow blueliner Reg Hamilton had 15 points, and a team high 41 penalty minutes.
In goal, rookie Frank McCool had all the action, winning 24 games and posting a 3.22 GAA, while earning four shutouts. McCool would win the Calder Memorial Trophy for his efforts.
The Maple Leafs would open the playoffs against the heavily favoured and defending Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens in a best of 7 series. The Canadiens dominated the league, as they had a record of 38–8–4, recording 80 points, which was 28 more than the Leafs. Toronto stunned the Canadiens in the series opener at the Montreal Forum, as Frank McCool shut out the Habs in a 1–0 Leafs victory. The Leafs then went up 2–0 in the series, winning a close game by a 3–2 score. The series shifted to Maple Leaf Gardens, however, the Canadiens roared back, easily defeating Toronto 4–1 to cut the Leafs series lead to 2–1. The fourth game was decided in overtime, and it was the Leafs who were victorious, winning 4–3, and taking a commanding 3–1 series lead. The series moved back to Montreal for the fifth game, and the Canadiens easily dismantled the Leafs, winning 10–3, and sending the series back to Toronto for the sixth game. The Maple Leafs would complete the upset, hanging on for a 4–3 win in the game, and win the series 4–2.
Toronto's opponent in the 1945 Stanley Cup Finals was the Detroit Red Wings, who finished the regular season with a 31–14–5 record, earning 67 points, which was 15 higher than the Leafs. The Red Wings had defeated the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round. Toronto, led by Frank McCool, would shutout the Red Wings in the first two games held at the Detroit Olympia for an early series lead. The Maple Leafs returned home for the third game, and took a 3–0 series lead as McCool would earn another shutout as Toronto won the game 1–0. The Red Wings managed to finally find the back of the net in the fourth game, winning 5–3 to avoid the sweep. Detroit goaltender Harry Lumley then shutout the Leafs in the fifth game by a score of 2–0, and he would once again earn a shutout in the sixth game, as Detroit won the game 1–0 in overtime to set up a seventh and deciding game. Toronto, led by goaltender Frank McCool and Babe Pratt, who scored the series winning goal, managed to hang on for a 2–1 victory in the seventh game to win the Stanley Cup for the fifth time in club history, and their first title in three years.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Montreal Canadiens 2

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Detroit Red Wings 3

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 6Toronto Maple Leafs1–0Detroit Red Wings1–0
2April 8Toronto Maple Leafs2–0Detroit Red Wings2–0
3April 12Detroit Red Wings0–1Toronto Maple Leafs3–0
4April 14Detroit Red Wings5–3Toronto Maple Leafs3–1
5April 19Toronto Maple Leafs0–2Detroit Red Wings3–2
6April 21Detroit Red Wings1–0Toronto Maple Leafs3–3
7April 22Toronto Maple Leafs2–1Detroit Red Wings4–3

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring
PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
4929255414
472125467
498364418
5018234139
2622153710
5022133526
4518173514
5017183549
31913226
503121541
34291116
364596
243478
3325724
1724611
814517
821313
2902218
500000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLTGAGAASASVSV%SO
300050242241613.224
Team:300050242241613.224

Playoffs

;Scoring
PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
137292
132468
132356
133144
133144
132245
1330314
131232
71122
110114
130115
130006
80000
130000
800010
40000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLTGAGAASASVSV%SO
8071385302.234
Team:8071385302.234

Awards and records

Transactions

, Frank McCool, Wally Stanowski, Reg Hamilton, Elwin Morris, John McCreedy, Tommy O'Neill, Ted Kennedy, Babe Pratt, Gus Bodnar, Art Jackson, Jack McLean, Mel Hill, Nick Metz, Bob Davidson, Dave Schriner, Lorne Carr, Conn Smythe, Hap Day, Frank Selke, Tim Daly