At the Amateur Draft the Leafs pick Brad Boyes 24th overall but ship him to San Jose for Owen Nolan. Pat Quinn determined to address the growing number of teams employing the mind-numbing neutral zone trap, decided he needed to bulk up his lineup. His most significant move was signing free agent Gary Roberts but in addition the Leafs signed free agents Dave Manson and Shane Corson, picked up Aki Berg and Bryan McCabe in trades and claimed Wade Belak on waivers. Truculence was not invented by Brian Burke.
The Maple Leafs make the playoffs again finishing in third place in a very competitive Northeast Division with a 37-29-11-5 record. This was a drop off from the 45 wins in the previous season but the Leafs were considered more playoff ready in 2001. Mats Sundin once again led the team in scoring with 76 points and Roberts had 29 goals playing on the wing with Sundin. There were 5 Leafs with over 100 minutes in penalties (Domi, Tucker, Roberts, Corson, and McCabe).
In the playoffs the Leafs would hit an extra gear, as goalie Curtis Joseph would shut down the first Place Ottawa Senators in a four game sweep. The Leafs continued to stay hot as they battled the New Jersey Devils in the second Round. However, the Leafs despite badly outplaying the Devils only held a 3-2 series lead. Then Leafs star enforcer Tie Domi and chief cementhead struck. In game 6 he head Devils star defenseman Scott Niedermayer in his sights for a clean hit but for some reason raised his elbow like a battering ram knocking Niedermayer from the game and series. He was suspended for the rest of the playoffs and 8 games in the next season. Scott Stevens and the rest of the Devils became enraged and woke up from their slumber. That play was clearly the turning point of the series and led to another early exit from the playoffs. As for the Devils they just missed another Cup win losing in 7 games to Colorado.
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