The Maple Leafs made several signings that would improve their team. At the entry draft, the Maple Leafs chose
Lanny McDonald with the fourth-overall draft pick. He would play six and a half seasons with the Maple Leafs.
Bernie Parent, who had left the team for the
World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972, made it known that he wanted to return to the NHL. The Maple Leafs still had his NHL rights, and they traded Parent to the
Philadelphia Flyers for
Doug Favell and a first-round draft pick, which the Maple Leafs used to choose
Bob Neely. Neely would play four seasons for the Maple Leafs before being traded to the
Colorado Rockies. In a first for Toronto, the club signed players from Europe. Toronto signed Swedish defenceman
Borje Salming and forward
Inge Hammarstrom. Salming had made the all-star team at the 1973 world championships. Hammarstrom was one of the top scorers in Sweden. Both had played for
Brynäs of the Swedish League, and the Leafs had to pay the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation for their release. Salming would play with the Leafs until 1989, when he joined the
Detroit Red Wings. Hammarstrom would play five seasons in Toronto before moving to the
St. Louis Blues. ==Regular season==