43 Years of Maple Leaf Frustration: 1990-91 Season

The wheels came off the bus in the 19990-91 season as the Leafs fell to last place in the Norris Division and 20th overall.  Only the pathetic Quebec Nordiques had a worse record.  What made the situation worse was that the Leafs first pick in the draft was owned the New Jersey Devils in exchange for journeyman defenseman Tom Kurvers (below).  In comparison, this deal made the Phil Kessel trade look like a steal.

Before the start of the season cantankerous owner, Harold Ballard passed away which left the franchise in disarray.  Even before his death, there had been battles between his children, Bill Ballard, Harold Ballard Jr., and Mary Elizabeth Flynn, and his longtime companion, Yolanda Ballard (though she and Harold never married, she had her name legally changed; she claimed to have been with Ballard for eight years at the time of his death).

In 1989, Bill Ballard was convicted of assaulting Yolanda and fined $500. Yolanda was not invited to Ballard's funeral, nor to the reading of his will. She fought with Ballard's family and partners over Ballard's estate following his death. In his will, Ballard had left Yolanda $50,000 a year for the rest of her life, but she considered this inadequate and sued for $192,600 and later $381,000 a year. The court awarded her $91,000.

According to Ballard's lawyer, his estate was worth less than $50 million. Most of the money was left to a charitable foundation. Ballard left his personal belongings to his children and grandchildren. Ballard's three children had all previously received shares in Maple Leaf Gardens that they sold for more than $15 million each.

The executors of Ballard's will were Steve Stavro, Don Giffin and Don Crump. In 1991, Stavro paid off a $20 million loan that had been made to Ballard in 1980 by Molson. In return, he was given an option to buy Maple Leaf Gardens shares from Ballard's estate. Molson also agreed to sell its stake in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to Stavro. That deal closed in 1994, and shortly after Stavro bought Ballard's shares from the estate for $34 a share or $75 million. The purchase was the subject of a securities commission review and a lawsuit from Ballard's son Bill, but the deal stood and Stavro and his partners in MLG Ventures became the new owner of the Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens.

The operation of the team during the 1990-91 season remained in the hands of Floyd Smith who was fired at the end of the season.  He became the 6th GM fired in the 24 years since the Leafs last won the Stanley Cup.  The team began the season with Doug Carpenter as coach but the Leafs had such a horrible start that he was fired after 11 games with a record of 1-9-1.  He was succeeded by his assistant Tom Watts who became the 14th Head Coach in the 24 years of Stanley Cup drought.

The new Leaf offensive leader was Vince Damphouse who scored 26 goals and 73 points that season.  Only one other player scored over 20 goals (Daniel Marois) and no one else even has 40 points. Gary Leeman who in the previous season has scored 51 goals and 95 points played only 52 games in 1990-91 and his offensive numbers dropped to only 17 goals and 29 assists. He would only score another 30 goals in the rest of his NHL season as his career burnt out quickly.