Toronto Maple Leafs
The NHL's longest-running rivalry.
The Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, is the longest-running rivalry in NHL history. The Canadiens were established in 1909 and the Maple Leafs in 1917, making them the league's oldest teams, and both now play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.
Quick Facts
- Playoff series
- 16
- Stanley cup final meetings
- 5
Original Six era
The rivalry picked up after the Montreal Maroons folded in 1938, leaving the Canadiens and Maple Leafs as the only Canadian teams in the NHL until 1970. One of the two won the Stanley Cup in 19 of the 25 Original Six seasons. From 1943 to 1979 they met in the playoffs 15 times, and in all they have met in 16 playoff series, including five Stanley Cup Finals.
Two Canadas
The clubs became emblems of Canada's cultural dualities - the Canadiens of French-speaking Canada and the Maple Leafs of English-speaking Canada, and of the country's two largest cities. The rivalry is best known in Canadian culture through Roch Carrier's 1979 short story The Hockey Sweater, about a young Canadiens fan in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, whose mother mistakenly buys him a Maple Leafs sweater.
Since the 1990s
The rivalry waned after the Original Six era, and the teams played in separate conferences from 1981 to 1998. Neither has won the Stanley Cup since the 1990s: Montreal last won in 1993 and Toronto in 1967.
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