The McDonald trade sent the Leafs into a downward spiral. The Leafs barely made the playoffs in 1980, finishing five games below .500. They would not post a winning record again in Ballard's lifetime, going a franchise-record 13 consecutive seasons without a winning record. The low point came in 1984–85, when the Leafs finished the season with the worst record in the league, 32 games below .500. Their .300 winning percentage was the second-worst in franchise history. They nearly duplicated that dubious achievement in 1987–88. That year, they finished with a .325 winning percentage, fourth-worst in franchise history, and were only one point up on the Minnesota North Stars for the league's worst record. Nevertheless, they still qualified for the playoffs under the playoff format in use at the time. In those days, the top four teams in each division made the playoffs, regardless of record. The Leafs and North Stars both played in the Norris Division, which was extremely weak that year; the Red Wings were the only team with a winning record. The Leafs defeated the Red Wings in the final game of the season, and backed into the playoffs when the Stars lost their final game hours later. It was the second time in three years that they had made the playoffs despite finishing with a winning percentage below .400. In 1985-86, they finished with a .356 winning percentage, the fourth-worst record in the league and fourth worst in franchise history. However, due to playing in a division where no team cracked the 90-point barrier, they still made the playoffs. Subsequent league expansions and format revisions make it impossible for a team so close to the bottom of the league standings to qualify for the playoffs today.