1947 Stanley Cup Final

Lore & Background

The Montreal Canadiens finished first in the league with 78 points, while the Toronto Maple Leafs finished second with 72 points. Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins 4–1 to advance to the Finals, and Toronto defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4–1. This was the fifth playoff series between these two teams, with each team winning two of the previous series; their most recent series came in the 1945 semifinals, which Toronto won in six games. In the regular season series, there were five wins for Montreal, three wins for Toronto, and four ties.

Montreal started out strong, defeating the Leafs 6–0 in the opener. Canadiens goaltender Bill Durnan reportedly asked 'How did those guys get in the league?', although he denied saying those words later. The second game was rough, with Maurice Richard knocking out Vic Lynn and Bill Ezinicki with high-sticks to the head. Richard earned over 20 minutes in penalties, a game misconduct, and a suspension for game three, plus a $250 fine imposed by president Clarence Campbell. The Leafs took advantage of power plays and won 4–0.

Games three and four were played in Toronto, and Toronto won both to take a 3–1 series lead. Returning to the Forum for game five, Montreal won to extend the series. In the sixth game, Turk Broda showed outstanding goaltending, holding off Ken Reardon on a late breakaway, and the Leafs won 2–1 to win the Stanley Cup. After the sixth game ended, the Cup was not presented to the Leafs; Clarence Campbell declined to present it immediately, concerned over the spectre of fan violence.

Reader's Guide

The 1947 Stanley Cup Final marked the first postseason meeting between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs for the championship, beginning a storied rivalry. The series featured the youngest NHL team to win the Cup to that time, with Toronto sporting several new players including Howie Meeker, Bill Barilko, and Bill Ezinicki. Ted Kennedy led with three goals, including the Cup winner. The series continued a competition that had gone on all season, with Montreal and Toronto finishing 1–2. Controversy surrounded Maurice Richard's suspension and fine, and the Cup presentation was delayed due to concerns over fan violence. The engraving of the Stanley Cup for this year contained errors: Joe Klukay's name was mistakenly removed when the Cup was redone in 1957–58, and on the replica Cup created in 1992–93, Robert J. Galloway's name was misspelled as P.J. Galloway. The 1947 Toronto Maple Leafs were the first Stanley Cup-winning team to have the captain and assistant captain marked on their sweaters in the team picture. The Stanley Cup was full, and the 1946–47 Toronto Maple Leafs members' names were not engraved until 1948.

Did You Know?

• Ted Kennedy scored three goals in the series, including the Cup-winning goal.
• Maurice Richard was suspended for game three and fined $250 by president Clarence Campbell.
• The Stanley Cup was not presented immediately after game six due to concerns over fan violence.
• Joe Klukay's name was mistakenly removed from the Stanley Cup when it was redone in 1957–58.

The Illegal Stick That Broke a Dynasty's Hopes

Late in the third period of Game 2, with Los Angeles leading 2–1 and holding a one-game series advantage, Canadiens head coach Jacques Demers asked officials to measure the curve on Kings defenceman Marty McSorley's stick. The measurement came back as illegal, and McSorley was assessed a two-minute minor for illegal equipment. Seizing the moment, Demers pulled goaltender Patrick Roy, giving Montreal a 6-on-4 numerical edge. Eric Desjardins fired from the point to level the score at two, dragging the contest into overtime. Just 51 seconds into the extra frame, Desjardins struck again for his third goal of the night, handing Montreal the win. From that single penalty call, the Kings never won another postseason game for the remainder of the 20th century. They dropped the final three games of the series, missed the playoffs in five of the next seven seasons, and were swept in the first round the other two times. Their next playoff victory of any kind would not arrive until 2001, against the Detroit Red Wings.

Two Roads to the Forum

Los Angeles reached the championship round for the first time in franchise history, overcoming a mid-season slump after superstar Wayne Gretzky sat out from October through January with injury. The Kings defeated Calgary 4–2, Vancouver 4–2, and Toronto 4–3, facing Canadian opponents in every round without home-ice advantage in any of them. Montreal's journey was equally dramatic. After dropping their first two games to Quebec, with hometown newspapers suggesting star goaltender Patrick Roy be traded, the Canadiens won four straight to eliminate the Nordiques. They then swept Buffalo and took the first three games against New York, tying a record of eleven consecutive playoff victories. Both conferences saw the top-seeded teams—the Blackhawks and the Penguins—eliminated before the Conference Finals, and Boston's three-year playoff dominance over Montreal was finally broken, clearing the path for the Canadiens to reach their first Final since 1989.

A Century of Unmatched Firsts

The 1993 Stanley Cup Final carried a weight of historical milestones that made it singular in NHL lore. It marked the 100th anniversary of the Cup's first awarding in 1893 and was the first championship series to open in June. For Los Angeles, it was their inaugural appearance in the Finals and the first time a west coast American team had reached the round since 1920. For Montreal, it was their 34th trip to the championship stage and their first since 1989. The Canadiens' five-game victory delivered their 24th Cup, but the roster's makeup made the achievement uniquely enduring. To this day, the 1993 team stands as the last Stanley Cup champion composed entirely of North American-born players. They remain the most recent Canadian-based franchise to lift the Cup and the last Canadian team outside Toronto to win a title in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues.

The Long Shadow of 1993

The final whistle of that series in the Montreal Forum cast a shadow that stretched across decades for both franchises. The Kings would not return to the Stanley Cup Final until 2012, when they finally captured their first championship against the New Jersey Devils. Montreal's absence from the championship round proved equally remarkable; they did not appear in the Finals again until 2021, when they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 1993 series also marked two irreplaceable lasts: it was the final time Wayne Gretzky competed in a Stanley Cup Final, and it was the last championship series played at the Montreal Forum. For a generation of fans, those images—Gretzky's empty-net goal in Game 1, the empty Forum seats in later years—became the defining bookends of an era, making the 1993 Cup not just a trophy but a cultural landmark in Canadian and American sports history.