TOSTHL Nouvelles : League History (Timeline)

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League History (Timeline)
HISTORY OF TOSTHL 2001 � 2002 The first season of TOSTHL began with Jim Walker leading the Montreal Canadiens, Paul Cramer running the Toronto Maple Leafs, Scott Cramer coaching the Detroit Red Wings, John Dickie head of the Chicago Black Hawks, Mike Dotzko coaching the New York Rangers and Nella Cramer leading the Boston Bruins. The Leafs took off to a very strong start but were passed by the Red Wings late in the season after the Wings had a 17 game unbeaten streak. After a rough start, the last place Bruins replaced Nella Cramer with Dave Robinson. The Bruins definitely improved under Robinson but before the season ended, with no hope of a playoff spot, Robinson resigned and Nella Cramer came back to finish the season off for the Bruins. Detroit ended the season in first, followed closely by the Leafs. The Canadiens finished the regular season strongly to take third place and the Rangers just nipped out the Black Hawks for the last playoff spot. The hapless Bruins finished in the cellar. In the semi finals of the playoffs, the Red Wings had no problem dumping the Rangers in five games. The Leafs had to fight hard to defeat the Canadiens in six games. In the finals, the first game played in Detroit was taken by the Wings 3 to 2, but the Leafs took game two 4 to 2. The Red Wings then took both close games in Toronto (3 to 1 and 4 to 3) to take a 3 to 1 lead in the series. In game five, the Red Wings had a 5 to 1 lead going into the third period and it looked like the cup was theirs but the Leafs rallied to score five unanswered goals to win 6 to 5 and forced a sixth game in Toronto. Game six was similar to the fifth game in that Detroit took a four goal lead into the third but again the Leafs rallied and scored six unanswered goals to win 7 to 5. Game seven in Detroit was a defensive struggle. After two periods the Red Wings lead 2 to 1. In the third the Leafs threw everything they had at the Red Wings but the Detroit defence held fast. Then just over the half way point of the third period the Red Wing center tipped a shot from the left wing over the Leaf goalie to make the score 3 to 1. The Leafs tried to fight back and did score one more goal with less than a minute to go from a slap shot from the right wing but it was too little, too late and the first ever TOSTHL Stanley Cup went to the Detroit Red Wings. 2002 � 2003 There were some changes at the beginning of the 2002 � 2003 season. The Boston Bruins were taken over by Will Hendrie and the Rangers replaced Mike Dotzko (who was sent to the minors in the Cayman Islands) with Rick Noel. Scott Cramer, Paul Cramer, Jim Walker and John Dickie remained behind the benches of Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago respectively. After ten games into the season the Rangers fired Rick Noel and replaced him with Dave Ross. The Canadiens got of to a flying start with 11 straight wins (a TOSTHL record) but slipped into second place as a solution to their patented center tip in from the wing shot was gradually solved by the other teams. For the second straight season the Red Wings won the regular season. The Canadiens nipped out the Leafs for second place and again the Rangers just edged the Hawks for the fourth and final playoff spot. Will Hendrie and the Bruins finished the season in last place with the worst record in TOSHL history. Again in the semi finals the Wings had no problem handling the Rangers, eliminating them in four straight (5 to 2, 3 to 1, 4 to 2 and 5 to 1) and the Leafs upset the Canadiens in a surprisingly quick five games (4 to 2, 1 to 4, 5 to 2, 6 to 3 and 5 to 3). In the finals the Leafs took the first game in Detroit 4 to 2 but the Red Wings came back to take game two in overtime 3 to 2. The Leafs won the next two in Toronto 4 to 1 and 5 to 3 and threatened to take the cup in five games in Detroit. The Red Wings, however, pulled game five out of the hat with yet another overtime victory 4 to 3. Game six went back to Toronto where the Leafs took a 4 to 0 lead until the Red Wings fought back but fell short at 4 to 3 and the Leafs were victorious to take their first TOSTHL Stanley Cup. 2003 � 2004 The third TOSTHL season saw some more changes. The Leafs were still coached by Paul Cramer, the Red Wings by Scott Cramer, the Canadiens by Jim Walker and the Rangers by Dave Ross. The Bruins fired Will Hendrie for the terrible previous season that the Bruins suffered and they picked up a new coach, Martin Spreer. The Black Hawks dumped John Dickie after two disappointing seasons of just missing the playoffs and picked up non other than the Bruin�s reject, Will Hendrie. The season initially looked like a disaster for the Bruins as they lost their first 8 games before finally getting a 5 to 4 win against the Black Hawks. The Bruins got stronger as the season progressed and ended up with a 10 � 14 �1 record, good enough to make the fourth and final playoff spot, ahead of Chicago again in fifth (but a much better season for Will Hendrie at 8 � 16 � 1) and the Rangers at 5 � 17 � 3. The Leafs lead the standing at 18 � 6 � 1 with the Canadiens second at 17 � 8 � 0 and the the Red Wings slipping into third at 14 � 11 � 0. The Bruins went up against the Leafs in the semis in a grueling seven game series. The first two games in Toronto were split (Toronto taking the first 6 to 5 in overtime and the Bruins taking the second 2 to 1) as were the next two in Boston Toronto 5 to 3 and Boston 5 to 1). The fifth game went back to Toronto where the Leafs won easily 10 to 3. The series resumed to Boston where the Bruins faced elimination but the Bruins won a tight one 5 to 3 to force a seventh game in Toronto. In game seven the Bruins stunned the Leafs with five unanswered goals in the first two periods and rode out the game to a 5 to 2 win and a ticket to the finals � the biggest upset to date in TOSTHL. The Canadiens who finished the regular season very strongly were expected to take the Red Wings but the Wings stunned the Canadiens by taking both of the first two games in Montreal (6 to 3 and 5 to 4). Montreal won the next game in Detroit by a tight 3 to 2 score but the Red Wings rebounded in game four with a 3 to 2 win themselves. The series went back to Montreal where the Canadiens eked out a 5 to 4 win.. Back in Detroit, however, the Wings make no mistake about the outcome of the series with a 8 to 2 romp to eliminate and upset the Canadiens in six games. The Red Wings were in the finals for the third straight year. Although the Red Wings were slightly favored over the Bruins, the Bruins were being taken seriously after their strong finish to the regular season and their upset of the Leafs in the semis. The Red Wings took the first game in Detroit 6 to 3 but the Bruins came back with a huge win in game two by a 3 to 2 score. The Bruins seemed unbeatable at home and took the next two games in Boston by 4 to 1 and 8 to 7 to take a commanding 3 to 1 game lead in the series. Back in Detroit, however, the Red Wings put a stop to the Bruins roll with a 7 to 2 victory. Game six went back to Boston and the Bruins had no intention of going back to Detroit for a seventh game. The Bruins jumped out quickly to a 3 to 0 first period lead, extended it to 6 to 1 by the end of the second and held the Wings to two goals in the third to win the game 6 to 3 and win their first TOSTHL Stanley Cup! The Bruins went from the worst team in TOSTHL history to the Stanley Cup championship in one season! 2004 � 2005 The 2004 � 2005 season was the first of TOSTHL expansion. The league kept the name �The Toronto Original Six Table Hockey League� despite four new expansion teams. Jeremy Wark took over the Minnesota North Stars, Scot Benson lead the Philadelphia Flyers, Tim Trihiaho coached the Pittsburgh Penguins and Warren Fick lead the Oakland Seals. There were more changes as well. Scott Cramer resigned from the Red Wings and was replaced by rookie coach Bill Kane and Jim Walker left the Canadiens and his shoes were filled by Mark V. Toronto, Boston, Chicago and New York were again lead by Paul Cramer, Martin Spreer, Will Hendrie and Dave Ross respectively. With ten teams, two division were created: The East with Boston, New York, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and the West with Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota and Oakland. The Bruins had an amazing regular season with a record 29 straight undefeated games, only losing the final game of the season with the Leafs splitting a 4 to 4 tie with only five seconds to take a 5 to 4 win. The Bruins finished with an amazing record 26 � 1 � 3 regular season and took first place in the East and in the league. The Rangers finished second n the East at 15 � 12 � 3, the Canadiens third at 15 � 13 � 2, the Penguins fourth at a respectable 9 � 13 � 6 and the Flyers took up the East basement at 7 � 20 � 3. In the West the Leafs ended up in first and second over all with a 20 � 5 � 5 record. The Black Hawks were second in the West at 14 � 12 � 4 (Will Hendrie�s first winning season), the North Stars took the third and final playoff spot at 11 � 12 � 7, followed by the Red Wings at 12 � 17 � 1 and Oakland at 1 � 23 � 6. The 2004 �2005 season saw the first ever TOSTHL Superbowl Sunday Allstar game. The West defeated the East 6 to 1. In the playoffs best of three wild card round the North Stars upset the Rangers in two games and the Canadiens knocked off the Hawks in two tough games. In the semi finals the North Stars had an almost impossible task in facing the almost unbeatable Bruins. The Bruins took the first two games in Boston but they were very close. The North Stars then won the next game in Minnesota. The Bruins, however took game 4 and headed back to Boston looking to finish the series there. The North Stars, however did not quit and defeated the Bruins in Boston and then came back to Minnesota to win and force game 7 in Boston. The North Stars accomplished what was thought impossible in game 7 by winning a huge 7 to 1 victory in front of a stunned Boson crowd. The upstart North Stars were in the finals. In the other series the Leafs took the first two games against the Canadiens in Toronto. Montreal took game 3 and the Leafs took game four in Montreal. The Leaf went home and finished off the Canadiens in 5 games. The North Stars in their first season took on the Leafs in the finals. The Leafs won the first two games at home before succumbing to the spectacular North Stars goaltending in game 3 in Minnesota. The Leafs then took game four to take a 3 to 1 lead in the series. The Leafs were hoping to win the series in game 5 in Toronto but that was not to be. The North Stars put up strong defense and fabulous goaltending and won the game forcing a sixth in Minnesota. The North Stars again beat the Leafs and like the Boston series in the semi finals the North Stars came back from a 3 to 1 game deficit to tie the series and force a seventh game. Game seven of the final in Toronto was one of the wildest and most exciting games in TOSTHL history. The game was reffed by Bill Kane. It was a high scoring game and the score seesawed back and forth through most of the game. With 1:30 left in the third the Leafs had a one goal lead when the North Stars tied it up 8 to 8. It looked like the next goal would be the winner. With 30 seconds left the North Stars scored on a shot from the right wing. The Leafs called a time out and when play resumed the Leafs tied it with only 12 seconds remaining in regulation time. It looked like overtime but right at the buzzer the Leafs scored on a drive from the right wing. The Leafs were celebrating when the referee declared it no goal as it went in the net a fraction of a second after the buzzer. Game seven of the finals went into sudden death overtime. It did not take long. At the 24 second mark the Leaf right winger drilled a low shot at the net and it was tipped in by the center. The Leafs won the 2004 � 2005 TOSTHL Stanley Cup! 2005 � 2006 The league expanded by two more teams for the 2005 � 2006 season. The East Division was augmented by the St. Louis Blues coached by new comer Norm Ibuki. Boston was still lead by Martin Spreer, the Rangers by Dave Ross, Pittsburgh by Tim Trihiaho and Philadelphia by Scott Benson. Mark V left the Canadien�s to pick up the West Division expansion Vancouver Canucks and was replaced by the top rated Canadian player, Greg Peden. In the West Division Toronto was again coached by Paul Cramer, Minnesota by Jeremy Wark, Detroit by Bill Kane, Chicago by Will Hendrie, Oakland by Warren Fick. About the half way mark of the season Tom Scheefer joined Warren Fick to share the coaching duties for the Seals and by the late season Scheefer took over entirely. Despite the Bruins winning the season series against the Canadiens, the Habs nipped out the Bruins to win the East Division and the league regular season championship. The Rangers followed Bruins and the Penguins picked up fourth place in the East, capturing their first ever playoff birth. The Flyers ended up in fifth and the Blues ended up with a very respectable season but finished sixth. In the West the Leafs finished a few points ahead of the North Stars to take their second straight West Division championship. The Vancouver Canucks took third place. Early in the season the Red Wings were in second place and appeared to be a shoe in for a playoff birth but Tom Scheefer took the Seals from last place to fourth by the season�s end and the Red Wings had to settle for fifth with the Black Hawks finishing in sixth. The Canadiens (like the Bruins the season before) were both the highest scoring team and the team that allowed the fewest goals throughout the regular season. The second annual Superbowl TOSTHL Allstar game went again to the East Division. This year, however, was a thriller with Tom Scheefer winning it for the East 4 to 3 in the second overtime period. The quarter finals saw Montreal beating a surprisingly tough Penguin�s team in five games. The Bruins had a tough time getting over the Rangers in five games. In the tightest series of the playoff the Leafs lead the Seals three games to two but the Seals came back and won the last two games to upset the Leafs in seven. The big surprise of the quarter finals was the Canucks eliminating the North Stars in four straight games. Montreal faced the tough Seals in the semi finals and although the Seals put up a terrific battle, the Canadiens fast high scoring forwards and tight defense were too much for Oakland and the Seals fell in six games. The Bruins had an easy time with Vancouver dumping the Canucks in four games. Boston faced the Canadiens in the finals. This was the Canadiens TOSTHL Stanley Cup Final debut after being eliminated in the semies four consecutive years by Toronto, Toronto, Detroit and Toronto. The first two games were very close despite the Canadiens striking early in both. The Bruins were tenacious in both these games but were nipped out by the Canadiens by 5 to 3 and 5 to 4 games. The Bruins went home to Boston somewhat demoralized. In game 3 the Canadiens had an easy 5 to 1 win and they overwhelmed the Bruins 9 to 3. The Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup!

League History (Timeline)

HISTORY OF TOSTHL

2001 � 2002

The first season of TOSTHL began with Jim Walker leading the Montreal Canadiens, Paul Cramer running the Toronto Maple Leafs, Scott Cramer coaching the Detroit Red Wings, John Dickie head of the Chicago Black Hawks, Mike Dotzko coaching the New York Rangers and Nella Cramer leading the Boston Bruins.

The Leafs took off to a very strong start but were passed by the Red Wings late in the season after the Wings had a 17 game unbeaten streak. After a rough start, the last place Bruins replaced Nella Cramer with Dave Robinson. The Bruins definitely improved under Robinson but before the season ended, with no hope of a playoff spot, Robinson resigned and Nella Cramer came back to finish the season off for the Bruins.

Detroit ended the season in first, followed closely by the Leafs. The Canadiens finished the regular season strongly to take third place and the Rangers just nipped out the Black Hawks for the last playoff spot. The hapless Bruins finished in the cellar.

In the semi finals of the playoffs, the Red Wings had no problem dumping the Rangers in five games. The Leafs had to fight hard to defeat the Canadiens in six games.

In the finals, the first game played in Detroit was taken by the Wings 3 to 2, but the Leafs took game two 4 to 2. The Red Wings then took both close games in Toronto (3 to 1 and 4 to 3) to take a 3 to 1 lead in the series. In game five, the Red Wings had a 5 to 1 lead going into the third period and it looked like the cup was theirs but the Leafs rallied to score five unanswered goals to win 6 to 5 and forced a sixth game in Toronto. Game six was similar to the fifth game in that Detroit took a four goal lead into the third but again the Leafs rallied and scored six unanswered goals to win 7 to 5. Game seven in Detroit was a defensive struggle. After two periods the Red Wings lead 2 to 1. In the third the Leafs threw everything they had at the Red Wings but the Detroit defence held fast. Then just over the half way point of the third period the Red Wing center tipped a shot from the left wing over the Leaf goalie to make the score 3 to 1. The Leafs tried to fight back and did score one more goal with less than a minute to go from a slap shot from the right wing but it was too little, too late and the first ever TOSTHL Stanley Cup went to the Detroit Red Wings.

2002 � 2003

There were some changes at the beginning of the 2002 � 2003 season. The Boston Bruins were taken over by Will Hendrie and the Rangers replaced Mike Dotzko (who was sent to the minors in the Cayman Islands) with Rick Noel. Scott Cramer, Paul Cramer, Jim Walker and John Dickie remained behind the benches of Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago respectively. After ten games into the season the Rangers fired Rick Noel and replaced him with Dave Ross.

The Canadiens got of to a flying start with 11 straight wins (a TOSTHL record) but slipped into second place as a solution to their patented center tip in from the wing shot was gradually solved by the other teams.

For the second straight season the Red Wings won the regular season. The Canadiens nipped out the Leafs for second place and again the Rangers just edged the Hawks for the fourth and final playoff spot. Will Hendrie and the Bruins finished the season in last place with the worst record in TOSHL history.

Again in the semi finals the Wings had no problem handling the Rangers, eliminating them in four straight (5 to 2, 3 to 1, 4 to 2 and 5 to 1) and the Leafs upset the Canadiens in a surprisingly quick five games (4 to 2, 1 to 4, 5 to 2, 6 to 3 and 5 to 3).

In the finals the Leafs took the first game in Detroit 4 to 2 but the Red Wings came back to take game two in overtime 3 to 2. The Leafs won the next two in Toronto 4 to 1 and 5 to 3 and threatened to take the cup in five games in Detroit. The Red Wings, however, pulled game five out of the hat with yet another overtime victory 4 to 3. Game six went back to Toronto where the Leafs took a 4 to 0 lead until the Red Wings fought back but fell short at 4 to 3 and the Leafs were victorious to take their first TOSTHL Stanley Cup.

2003 � 2004

The third TOSTHL season saw some more changes. The Leafs were still coached by Paul Cramer, the Red Wings by Scott Cramer, the Canadiens by Jim Walker and the Rangers by Dave Ross. The Bruins fired Will Hendrie for the terrible previous season that the Bruins suffered and they picked up a new coach, Martin Spreer. The Black Hawks dumped John Dickie after two disappointing seasons of just missing the playoffs and picked up non other than the Bruin�s reject, Will Hendrie.

The season initially looked like a disaster for the Bruins as they lost their first 8 games before finally getting a 5 to 4 win against the Black Hawks. The Bruins got stronger as the season progressed and ended up with a 10 � 14 �1 record, good enough to make the fourth and final playoff spot, ahead of Chicago again in fifth (but a much better season for Will Hendrie at 8 � 16 � 1) and the Rangers at 5 � 17 � 3. The Leafs lead the standing at 18 � 6 � 1 with the Canadiens second at 17 � 8 � 0 and the the Red Wings slipping into third at 14 � 11 � 0.

The Bruins went up against the Leafs in the semis in a grueling seven game series. The first two games in Toronto were split (Toronto taking the first 6 to 5 in overtime and the Bruins taking the second 2 to 1) as were the next two in Boston Toronto 5 to 3 and Boston 5 to 1). The fifth game went back to Toronto where the Leafs won easily 10 to 3. The series resumed to Boston where the Bruins faced elimination but the Bruins won a tight one 5 to 3 to force a seventh game in Toronto. In game seven the Bruins stunned the Leafs with five unanswered goals in the first two periods and rode out the game to a 5 to 2 win and a ticket to the finals � the biggest upset to date in TOSTHL.

The Canadiens who finished the regular season very strongly were expected to take the Red Wings but the Wings stunned the Canadiens by taking both of the first two games in Montreal (6 to 3 and 5 to 4). Montreal won the next game in Detroit by a tight 3 to 2 score but the Red Wings rebounded in game four with a 3 to 2 win themselves. The series went back to Montreal where the Canadiens eked out a 5 to 4 win.. Back in Detroit, however, the Wings make no mistake about the outcome of the series with a 8 to 2 romp to eliminate and upset the Canadiens in six games. The Red Wings were in the finals for the third straight year.

Although the Red Wings were slightly favored over the Bruins, the Bruins were being taken seriously after their strong finish to the regular season and their upset of the Leafs in the semis. The Red Wings took the first game in Detroit 6 to 3 but the Bruins came back with a huge win in game two by a 3 to 2 score. The Bruins seemed unbeatable at home and took the next two games in Boston by 4 to 1 and 8 to 7 to take a commanding 3 to 1 game lead in the series. Back in Detroit, however, the Red Wings put a stop to the Bruins roll with a 7 to 2 victory. Game six went back to Boston and the Bruins had no intention of going back to Detroit for a seventh game. The Bruins jumped out quickly to a 3 to 0 first period lead, extended it to 6 to 1 by the end of the second and held the Wings to two goals in the third to win the game 6 to 3 and win their first TOSTHL Stanley Cup! The Bruins went from the worst team in TOSTHL history to the Stanley Cup championship in one season!

2004 � 2005

The 2004 � 2005 season was the first of TOSTHL expansion. The league kept the name �The Toronto Original Six Table Hockey League� despite four new expansion teams. Jeremy Wark took over the Minnesota North Stars, Scot Benson lead the Philadelphia Flyers, Tim Trihiaho coached the Pittsburgh Penguins and Warren Fick lead the Oakland Seals. There were more changes as well. Scott Cramer resigned from the Red Wings and was replaced by rookie coach Bill Kane and Jim Walker left the Canadiens and his shoes were filled by Mark V. Toronto, Boston, Chicago and New York were again lead by Paul Cramer, Martin Spreer, Will Hendrie and Dave Ross respectively.

With ten teams, two division were created: The East with Boston, New York, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and the West with Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota and Oakland.

The Bruins had an amazing regular season with a record 29 straight undefeated games, only losing the final game of the season with the Leafs splitting a 4 to 4 tie with only five seconds to take a 5 to 4 win. The Bruins finished with an amazing record 26 � 1 � 3 regular season and took first place in the East and in the league.

The Rangers finished second n the East at 15 � 12 � 3, the Canadiens third at 15 � 13 � 2, the Penguins fourth at a respectable 9 � 13 � 6 and the Flyers took up the East basement at 7 � 20 � 3.

In the West the Leafs ended up in first and second over all with a 20 � 5 � 5 record. The Black Hawks were second in the West at 14 � 12 � 4 (Will Hendrie�s first winning season), the North Stars took the third and final playoff spot at 11 � 12 � 7, followed by the Red Wings at 12 � 17 � 1 and Oakland at 1 � 23 � 6.

The 2004 �2005 season saw the first ever TOSTHL Superbowl Sunday Allstar game. The West defeated the East 6 to 1.

In the playoffs best of three wild card round the North Stars upset the Rangers in two games and the Canadiens knocked off the Hawks in two tough games.

In the semi finals the North Stars had an almost impossible task in facing the almost unbeatable Bruins. The Bruins took the first two games in Boston but they were very close. The North Stars then won the next game in Minnesota. The Bruins, however took game 4 and headed back to Boston looking to finish the series there. The North Stars, however did not quit and defeated the Bruins in Boston and then came back to Minnesota to win and force game 7 in Boston. The North Stars accomplished what was thought impossible in game 7 by winning a huge 7 to 1 victory in front of a stunned Boson crowd.

The upstart North Stars were in the finals.

In the other series the Leafs took the first two games against the Canadiens in Toronto. Montreal took game 3 and the Leafs took game four in Montreal. The Leaf went home and finished off the Canadiens in 5 games.

The North Stars in their first season took on the Leafs in the finals. The Leafs won the first two games at home before succumbing to the spectacular North Stars goaltending in game 3 in Minnesota. The Leafs then took game four to take a 3 to 1 lead in the series. The Leafs were hoping to win the series in game 5 in Toronto but that was not to be. The North Stars put up strong defense and fabulous goaltending and won the game forcing a sixth in Minnesota. The North Stars again beat the Leafs and like the Boston series in the semi finals the North Stars came back from a 3 to 1 game deficit to tie the series and force a seventh game.

Game seven of the final in Toronto was one of the wildest and most exciting games in TOSTHL history. The game was reffed by Bill Kane. It was a high scoring game and the score seesawed back and forth through most of the game. With 1:30 left in the third the Leafs had a one goal lead when the North Stars tied it up 8 to 8. It looked like the next goal would be the winner. With 30 seconds left the North Stars scored on a shot from the right wing. The Leafs called a time out and when play resumed the Leafs tied it with only 12 seconds remaining in regulation time. It looked like overtime but right at the buzzer the Leafs scored on a drive from the right wing. The Leafs were celebrating when the referee declared it no goal as it went in the net a fraction of a second after the buzzer. Game seven of the finals went into sudden death overtime. It did not take long. At the 24 second mark the Leaf right winger drilled a low shot at the net and it was tipped in by the center. The Leafs won the 2004 � 2005 TOSTHL Stanley Cup!

2005 � 2006

The league expanded by two more teams for the 2005 � 2006 season. The East Division was augmented by the St. Louis Blues coached by new comer Norm Ibuki. Boston was still lead by Martin Spreer, the Rangers by Dave Ross, Pittsburgh by Tim Trihiaho and Philadelphia by Scott Benson. Mark V left the Canadien�s to pick up the West Division expansion Vancouver Canucks and was replaced by the top rated Canadian player, Greg Peden. In the West Division Toronto was again coached by Paul Cramer, Minnesota by Jeremy Wark, Detroit by Bill Kane, Chicago by Will Hendrie, Oakland by Warren Fick.

About the half way mark of the season Tom Scheefer joined Warren Fick to share the coaching duties for the Seals and by the late season Scheefer took over entirely.

Despite the Bruins winning the season series against the Canadiens, the Habs nipped out the Bruins to win the East Division and the league regular season championship. The Rangers followed Bruins and the Penguins picked up fourth place in the East, capturing their first ever playoff birth. The Flyers ended up in fifth and the Blues ended up with a very respectable season but finished sixth.

In the West the Leafs finished a few points ahead of the North Stars to take their second straight West Division championship. The Vancouver Canucks took third place. Early in the season the Red Wings were in second place and appeared to be a shoe in for a playoff birth but Tom Scheefer took the Seals from last place to fourth by the season�s end and the Red Wings had to settle for fifth with the Black Hawks finishing in sixth.

The Canadiens (like the Bruins the season before) were both the highest scoring team and the team that allowed the fewest goals throughout the regular season.

The second annual Superbowl TOSTHL Allstar game went again to the East Division. This year, however, was a thriller with Tom Scheefer winning it for the East 4 to 3 in the second overtime period.

The quarter finals saw Montreal beating a surprisingly tough Penguin�s team in five games. The Bruins had a tough time getting over the Rangers in five games. In the tightest series of the playoff the Leafs lead the Seals three games to two but the Seals came back and won the last two games to upset the Leafs in seven. The big surprise of the quarter finals was the Canucks eliminating the North Stars in four straight games.

Montreal faced the tough Seals in the semi finals and although the Seals put up a terrific battle, the Canadiens fast high scoring forwards and tight defense were too much for Oakland and the Seals fell in six games. The Bruins had an easy time with Vancouver dumping the Canucks in four games.

Boston faced the Canadiens in the finals. This was the Canadiens TOSTHL Stanley Cup Final debut after being eliminated in the semies four consecutive years by Toronto, Toronto, Detroit and Toronto. The first two games were very close despite the Canadiens striking early in both. The Bruins were tenacious in both these games but were nipped out by the Canadiens by 5 to 3 and 5 to 4 games. The Bruins went home to Boston somewhat demoralized. In game 3 the Canadiens had an easy 5 to 1 win and they overwhelmed the Bruins 9 to 3. The Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup!

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