History of the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the Northeast division of the Eastern conference of the NHL, playing at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario in blue and white. Originally founded in 1917 under the Toronto Arenas name, the Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups and five division championships.

Minor league affiliates: Toronto Marlies (AHL), Reading Royals (ECHL)

Stanley Cups: 13 total from years 1917-1918, 1921-22, 1931-32, 1941-42, 1944-45, 1946-47, 1947-48, 1948-59, 1950-51, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1966-67

Conference championships: 0 total

Presidents’ Trophies: 0 total

Division championships: 5 total from years 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1937-38, 1999-00

The Toronto team was founded on November 22, 1917 under the Arenas name as an NFL team. The Toronto Blueshirts, the original Toronto team, were eliminated because of management problems with Eddie Livingstone, and the Arena Company bought the Toronto Arena Hockey Club to play under the Arenas name in the NHL. The Arenas secured some of the original members of the Blueshirts, but they lost most of them when Livingstone sued. This caused them to end the season early, with their winning percentage of .278 being the worst in franchise history. However, due to the worldwide flu epidemic in 1919, the Maple Leafs were considered the winners of the Stanley Cup by default.

After that, the Maple Leafs went bankrupt and sold the team to new owners, who changed the name to the Toronto St. Pats in 1917. The name remained until 1927, and those ten years resulted in one Stanley Cup win in 1922 and the only time the team colors changed – from blue to green.

Early Achievements of the Toronto Maple Leafs

In 1927, Conn Smythe took over and changed the name to the Toronto Maple Leafs in honor of the Maple Leaf Regiment from World War 1. After that season, the colors would remain blue and white, with blue representing the Canadian skies and white representing the snow. Blue also happened to be Toronto’s main sports color.

The Maple Leaf Gardens opened on November 12, 1931. The first NFL all star game was in honor of Maple Leaf Ace Bailey, who’s career ended in 1933 when Boston Bruins player Eddie Shore checked him from behind. During the 1930s, Toronto made it to the final fives in the NHL five times.

The Toronto Maple Leafs in the 20^th and 21^st Century

The Maple Leafs had three straight Stanley Cup wins against the Montreal Canadiens from 1947-1949. The 1950s plagued the Maple Leafs with the Barilko Curse, when player Gill Barilko scored the winning goal and then disappeared in a plane crash a few months after. The Leafs didn’t win the cup for the rest of the 1950s.

The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup four times in the 1960s under new owners, with their last win ever in the 1966-1967 season.  After that, the Leafs started to decline, continuously missing playoffs. In 1990, Cliff Fletcher was put in charge of the team, and he acquired Doug Glimour, Dave Andreychuk and Flex Potvin.

In 1996, owner Stavro partnered with Larry Tanenbaum, and they renamed the organization the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). After the lockout of 2005, the team struggled to succeed. In 2008, Brian Burke was hired as the General Manager, instating head coach Randy Carlyle and making numerous player trades.

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History of Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are part of the Northeast Division in the Eastern conference of the NHL, playing at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec in red, white and blue. The Canadiens were founded on December 4, 1909 as part of the NHA, and then became part of the NHL in 1917.

Minor league affiliates: Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL), Wheeling Hailers (ECHL)

Stanley Cups: 24 total from years 1915-16, 1923-24, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1943-44, 1945-46, 1952-53, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1969-68, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1985-86, 1992-93

Conference championships: 8 total from years 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1992-93

Presidents’ Trophies: 0 total

Division championships: 22 total from years 1927-28, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1936-37, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-66, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1984-85, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1991-92, 2007-08

Early Achievements of the Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens were one of the founding teams of the NHL in 1917, and won seven Stanley Cup titles before Hector “Toe” Blake, former Canadien player became the head coach in 1955.  After winning seven championships, Blake retired in 1968. During that time, the Canadiens acquired future Hall of Famers Maurice Richard and Henri Richard, and added star players like Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey and Jean Beliveau.

Other notable players in Canadien history are Claude Ruel, Scotty Bowman, Al MacNeil, and Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur. In fact, under Scotty Bowman, the Canadiens won four Stanley Cups from 1976-1979. However, after 1979, the Canadiens didn’t win the Stanley Cup again until 1986 under Jean Perron.

The Montreal Canadiens in the 20^th and 21^st Century

After that, the Canadiens remained dominant until the mid 1990s, which was followed by a dry spell until they won the Division championships in the 2007-2008 season. In between this, goaltender Patrick Roy became the youngest player ever to be awarded the Smythe Trophy.

On December 29, 2008, the Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers and became the first team in the history of the NHL to reach 3,000 wins.

Currently, the Canadiens are one of five ice hockey teams in the northeast division of the eastern conference of the NHL and are the most accomplished team in NFL history. They have won 23 Stanley Cup Championships, which is more than any other team. They have qualified for the playoffs in almost every year since their birth and are one of only two teams to win more than three consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

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nhlteamscanada.com

NHL Teams Canada.com

The National Hockey League (NHL) was organized on November 26, 1917 in Montreal and consisted of 4 Canadian teams from the former National Hockey Association (NHA) including the Montreal Candiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs were not able to play in the league which led some of their owners to create a new team in Toronto who went on to become the Maple Leafs.

Today, there are 7 professional franchises based in Canada playing in the NHL.  The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are two of the original 6 teams of the NHL who still play in the league.  The remaining teams, although some have come and gone and come back again, are the Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.  The Quebec Nordiques left the league in the 90s but may be back again.

This site celebrates the NHL teams in Canada and is a fan site not affiliated with the NHL.

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