Division 4th Northeast 2010–11 record 37–34–11 Road record 19–19–3 | Conference 10th Eastern Home record 18–15–8 Goals for 218 | |
The 2010–11 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 94th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on November 22, 1917, and 84th season since adopting the Maple Leafs name in February 1927.
Contents
The Maple Leafs posted a regular season record of 37 wins, 34 losses, and 11 overtime/shootout losses for 85 points, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Draft
The Maple Leafs did not have a first round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, having traded it to the Boston Bruins in the Phil Kessel deal. The selection ended up being the second overall pick, which the Bruins used to select Tyler Seguin. The Leafs made their first selection in the second round, having traded Jimmy Hayes to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 43rd overall pick, used on Brad Ross of the Portland Winterhawks. After Ross, the Leafs made six other selections in the later rounds of the draft, including Greg McKegg, Sondre Olden, Petter Granberg, Daniel Brodin, Sam Carrick and Josh Nicholls.
Off-season
On June 14, 2010, General Manager Brian Burke held a press conference to unveil the team's new sweaters for the 2010–11 season and also named Dion Phaneuf the 18th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Regular season
The Maple Leafs started the season significantly better than in 2009–10. On October 7, 2010, the Maple Leafs won their first home opener since October 7, 2000. On October 15, 2010, the Maple Leafs won their fourth consecutive game, beating the New York Rangers 4–3 on the road. The Leafs had started a regular season with four consecutive wins since the 1993–94 season, when they won their first 10 games.
Over the 82-game regular season, the Leafs were shut-out a league-high 11 times, tied with the Washington Capitals.
Playoffs
The Maple Leafs attempted to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 season. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention on April 5, 2011, when Buffalo Sabres beat Tampa Bay Lightning 4–2, shortly before Toronto lost to the Washington Capitals in a shoot-out. They continue to hold the second longest playoff-drought streak, second only to the Florida Panthers. Neither team have reached the playoffs since the NHL lockout. The Leafs hold the longest active Stanley Cup Finals drought streak not having competed in the finals since the 1966–67 NHL season. They also are tied with the Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues for the longest drought without a Stanley Cup until the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012. In the 2009–10 season, the Chicago Blackhawks ended the longest drought without winning a Stanley Cup at that time, not having won the Stanley Cup since the 1960–61 season.
Standings
bold - qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT - Atlantic Division, NE - Northeast Division, SE - Southeast Division