Close but not quite for Toronto in the NHL Awards. Zarley Zalapski narrowly missed out on the Calder for Rookie of the Year; instead it went to C Joe Sakic of QUE (40-45-85 and +10 in 75GP). Jason Taylor also lost out on both nominations to bitter rival Minnesota; Jack Ferreira was GM of the year, and Pierre Page was Coach of the year. This would definitely add some fuel to the fire for Taylor next year.
Toronto didn't have any presence on the post-season NHL All-Star teams.
But Zalapski did proudly represent Toronto on the NHL All-Rookie team.
A few other changes happened with other teams. Boston shockingly fired longtime GM Harry Sinden, and replaced him with ex-Bruin Mike Milbury. Milbury then immediately fired coach Allen Gibson and replaced him with Lou Nanne. Coaching changes also hit Vancouver (Bob McCammon was replaced by Red Berenson) and New Jersey (Jim Schoenfeld was fired to make way for John Ferguson).
Overall, Leafs owner Harold Ballard was happy with how the season played out. He was actually eager to see how Leafs GM Jason Taylor would build on this for next year!
That's it for now; I hope you've enjoyed it! Any feedback is welcome, both positive and constructive. I'm 50-50 on continuing this save, or perhaps trying another period (maybe 72-73 when the WHA comes on?). Either way, thanks for reading!