Toronto Maple Leafs

[paulwoods13]

Being a Wings fan, I am often reminded from the Leaf nation, how awesome that year was and how they upset the Wings in seven game series. It was exciting, but I then chuckle, as I then state how that was 22 years ago and the Wings have since won 4 Cups.

I'm also a Wings fan, and I prefer not to rub Leaf fans noses in the past two decades (my dad is a Leaf fan, for one thing). But I do sometimes have to remind people that that "monumental upset" was in fact a win by a team that was just four points behind the "favourite."

Detroit Red Wings 84 47 28 9 103 369 280
Toronto Maple Leafs 84 44 29 11 99 288 241

[ArgoRavi]

I'm also a Wings fan, and I prefer not to rub Leaf fans noses in the past two decades (my dad is a Leaf fan, for one thing). But I do sometimes have to remind people that that "monumental upset" was in fact a win by a team that was just four points behind the "favourite."

Detroit Red Wings 84 47 28 9 103 369 280
Toronto Maple Leafs 84 44 29 11 99 288 241

Good point, Paul. The bigger upset for the Leafs was when they beat the Islanders back in 1978. Lanny McDonald's OT game-winning goal in Game 7 is still, IMO, the greatest moment in Leafs history since their last Stanley Cup win.

[gilthethrill]

Good point, Paul. The bigger upset for the Leafs was when they beat the Islanders back in 1978. Lanny McDonald's OT game-winning goal in Game 7 is still, IMO, the greatest moment in Leafs history since their last Stanley Cup win.

Yes, I loved hockey when I was a kid and recall that goal vividly Ravi.....

[Will]

The point totals might not suggest that the Leafs winning that series was an upset, but the talent level on that Red Wings team was probably much greater than the talent level on that Maple Leafs team. Outside of Gilmour, Andreychuk, Clark, Anderson and Borschevsky did the Leafs really have that many offensive threats? Remember that Clark only scored 17 times that season compared to 46 in 1993-1994. The Wings had Yzerman, Fedorov, Coffey, Ciccarelli, Sheppard, Yserbaert, etc. The Leafs also, if you recall, had started the 1992-1993 season slowly before catching fire after the New Year. Grant Fuhr was traded for Dave Andreychuk and Felix Potvin was solid between the pipes. People didn't know whether it was an aberration. It didn't help the Red Wings that they had Tim Cheveldae in goal.

The biggest Leaf upsets may actually be in the 1980's when the John Brophy teams won a couple of playoff series (although Maloney may have been coach for one such year)

[ArgoRavi]

The biggest Leaf upsets may actually be in the 1980's when the John Brophy teams won a couple of playoff series (although Maloney may have been coach for one such year)

The Leafs' upset of Chicago in the first round in 1986, with Dan Maloney as head coach, is likely the biggest upset the Leafs have pulled off since their last Stanley Cup win. They did beat St. Louis in the first round the next year, under John Brophy, but that wasn't quite as big of an upset as what happened in '86. During the '85-'86 season, the Leafs did have Chicago's number as they beat the Blackhawks 6 out of 8 games so the playoff upset wasn't totally out of the blue.