Toronto Maple Leafs

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1917
• Home arena: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
• Owner: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Ltd.
• Team colors: Navy, blue, and white

Overview

The Toronto Maple Leafs is a National Hockey League (NHL) team that plays in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. One of the NHL’s “Original Six” teams, the Maple Leafs first took the ice on December 19, 1917. Over the course of their long history, the Maple Leafs have won numerous Stanley Cup championships and claimed many other accolades. By the 2019–2020 season, the Maple Leafs amassed an all-time record that includes 2,965 wins, 2,815 losses, 783 ties, and 167 overtime losses. As one of the most distinguished franchises in the history of hockey, the Maple Leafs are ranked among the NHL’s most respected and admired teams. The Maple Leafs are also one of the NHL’s most financially successful franchises, worth an estimated $1.5 billion in 2019.

In addition to their on-ice play, the Toronto Maple Leafs also maintain an active commitment to philanthropic endeavors. The Maple Leafs organization makes a concerted effort to give back as much as possible to the Toronto community and support those in need. Among other things, the team supports local charities, participates in various charitable programs, and holds community events like the annual Children’s Wish/Make a Wish Night and the Canadian Armed Forces Night. A large portion of the Maple Leafs’ philanthropic efforts are carried out through the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Foundation. MLSE works with an array of corporate and community partners to provide communities in need across Toronto with sports programs, sports grants, and sports space revitalization projects.

History

The history of the Toronto Maple Leafs began with two other early Toronto-area hockey teams: the Toronto Shamrocks (originally the Tecumsehs) and the Toronto Blueshirts. Both of these teams played in a short-lived professional hockey league known as the National Hockey Association (NHA) and were owned by sports executive Eddie Livingstone. When the NHA lost a large number of its players to another new league after the 1914–1915 season, the Shamrocks were forced to merge with the Blueshirts. The decision to allow Livingstone to amalgamate his two teams angered the other NHA team owners, all of whom were generally unhappy with Livingstone and his unscrupulous business practices. In response, these owners pulled out of the NHA following the 1916–1917 season and formed a new league without Livingstone called the NHL.

The Blueshirts were eventually allowed to enter the NHL after jettisoning Livingstone from the organization. The team made its official NHL debut December 19, 1917. At the time, the team had no official nickname and was known variously as the Blueshirts, the Arenas, or simply the Torontos. Regardless, the unnamed Toronto team was immediately successful, winning the Stanley Cup in the league’s inaugural season. After a brief departure from the NHL, the Toronto team returned for the 1919–1920 season as the St. Patricks. The St. Patricks won the franchise’s second Stanley Cup in 1922. In 1927, investor Conn Smythe purchased the St. Patricks and renamed them the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over the next few years, Smythe transformed the Maple Leafs into one of the NHL’s top teams. He also orchestrated construction of the team’s longtime home—Maple Leaf Gardens—in 1931. With Smythe at the helm, the Maple Leafs once again claimed a Stanley Cup championship the following year. Through the 1930s, the Maple Leafs reached the Stanley Cup Finals seven times, but did not manage to win the Cup again after 1932.

The 1940s were one of the greatest periods in Maple Leafs history. In the 1941–1942 season, the Maple Leafs returned to the Stanley Cup Finals and defeated the Detroit Red Wings to lift the Cup once again. After some disruption caused by World War II, the Maple Leafs resumed their winning ways and picked up additional Stanley Cups in the 1944–1945, 1946–1947, 1947–1948, and 1948–1949 seasons.

The Maple Leafs’ fortunes took a dramatic turn in the 1950s. After winning another Stanley Cup in 1951 with a win over the Montreal Canadiens, the team suffered a devastating off-ice loss. During a summer fishing trip, star Maple Leafs defenseman Bill Barilko went missing and never returned to the team. Years later, it was learned that he had been killed in a plane crash. In the meantime, the sudden loss of Barilko led the Maple Leafs into a prolonged downturn that kept the Stanley Cup out of their grasp.

More than a decade after their last championship, the Maple Leafs once again found success in the early 1960s. In the 1961–1962 season, the Maple Leafs made a triumphant return to the Stanley Cup finals and beat the reigning champion Chicago Blackhawks to bring the Cup back to Toronto once more. With this return to form, the Maple Leafs again became one of the NHL’s most dominant teams, winning additional Stanley Cup championships in 1963, 1964, and 1967.

The Maple Leafs spent most of the 1970s and 1980s under the direction of new owner Harold Ballard. Disliked by many within the organization, Ballard was convicted of tax evasion shortly after taking control of the team and spent a year in prison. Nevertheless, he retained ownership of the Maple Leafs and soon led the team down an unpleasant path of failure. Aside from a few brief playoff appearances, the Maple Leafs enjoyed very little success during the Ballard era—a frustrating period that ended only with Ballard’s death in 1990.

With Ballard out of the way, the Maple Leafs worked to rebuild through the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Along the way, the team made a number of notable playoff runs, but ultimately failed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals or win any further championships. The Maple Leafs best performances during this time came with their Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 1993, 1994, 1999, and 2002. Between 2006 and 2012, the team failed to make the playoffs at all. Nevertheless, despite their lack of championships in the modern era, the Maple Leafs remain one of the NHL’s most popular and beloved teams among Canadian fans.

Notable players

Many former Toronto Maple Leafs players have been honored with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. One of the greatest Hall of Fame players in Maple Leafs history was center Ted Kennedy, who was a pivotal member of the team’s championship teams of the 1940s. During the fourteen years he spent in Toronto, Kennedy recorded a total of 230 goals and 330 assists. He also served as the team’s captain from 1948. Center Syl Apps, who preceded Kennedy as Maple Leafs’ captain, played with the team from 1936 to 1948 and racked up 201 goals and 231 assists in that time. Goaltender Johnny Bower was one of the Maple Leafs’ key contributors in the 1960s. Known for manning the net without the protection of a mask at a time when that was no longer the norm, Bower often blocked shots with his face and developed the poke check. He played with the team until his retirement in 1970 and made more than 13,000 saves in that time. Center Darryl Sittler played with the Maple Leafs through the 1970s and distinguished himself as one of the team’s all-time great players. Most notably, he scored the only double hat trick—six goals in one game—in modern NHL history during a game on February 7, 1976. In his twelve seasons as the Maple Leaf, Sittler racked up 398 goals and 527 assists. Hall of Fame defenseman Tim Horton was another of the Maple Leafs’ most accomplished players. In fact, he played longer than any other defenseman in team history—a total of 20 seasons in all. Horton also set a Maple Leafs record with a total of six first or second All-Star team appearances. A Maple Leaf from 1994 to 2008, center Mats Sundin was the team’s best player during that time. His greatest accomplishment was recording 420 goals to become the Maple Leafs’ all-time leading scorer. Some other Maple Leaf Hall of Famers include Dave Andreychuk, King Clancy, Doug Gilmour, Joe Primeau, and Pat Quinn.

There have been many other notable Toronto Maple Leafs as well. One of the best Maple Leafs players of the 1980s and 1990s, left winger and defenseman Wendel Clark, netted 34 playoff goals over the course of his three stints in Toronto to set the team’s all-time postseason scoring record. Known as one of the NHL’s most notorious goons, right winger Tie Domi played two stints with the Maple Leafs—including a short one in the 1989–1090 season and a longer one from 1994–2006—and recorded 84 goals and 112 assists in that time. More to the point, he also accrued 2,265 penalty minutes as a Maple Leaf. Goaltender Felix Potvin patrolled the net for the Maple Leafs from 1991–1999, playing in a total of 369 games and making more than 11,000 saves during that stretch.

Bibliography

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