Toronto Arenas

Lore & Background

The Toronto Arenas originated from a dispute between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts, and the owners of the other four NHA clubs. In November 1917, those four clubs suspended the NHA and created the NHL, leaving Livingstone in a one-team league. To field a team from Toronto, NHL president Frank Calder assigned the contracts of Blueshirt players to a temporary franchise operated by the Toronto Arena Company. The team had no official nickname; the press called them the 'Blue Shirts' or 'Torontos.' Players often signed contracts with both Livingstone and the Torontos and were paid in cash or personal cheques week by week. Despite this uncertainty, the team won the second half of the 1917–18 season, defeated the Montreal Canadiens in a playoff, and then beat the Vancouver Millionaires 3–2 in a best-of-five series for the Stanley Cup. The team did not engrave its name on the Cup.

For the 1918–19 season, the Arena Company returned its temporary franchise to the NHL and formed a new club, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, popularly known as the Toronto Arenas, with Arena Company auditor Hubert Vearncombe as president. This new club was a separate corporation admitted as a permanent NHL member. The team struggled, finishing last in both halves with 5 wins and 13 losses. Attendance was poor, with only hundreds recorded for a February 4, 1919 game. Several players left due to the legal uncertainty and informal payment arrangements. The team wrote to Calder to end the season early, and after each team had played 18 games, the Toronto Arenas officially withdrew from the league on February 20, 1919.

On December 13, 1919, the NHL approved the sale of the Arenas to a group fronted by Querrie for $5,000. The money was intended for Livingstone but never reached him; by all accounts, Calder pocketed it. The team was renamed the Toronto St. Patricks, with incorporation on December 22, 1919. The Maple Leafs claim the history of the temporary 1917–18 franchise but not the pre-NHL Blueshirts.

Reader's Guide

The Toronto Arenas hold a unique place in NHL history as the league's first champion and the direct predecessor of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team's creation was a direct result of the NHL's founding as a breakaway from the NHA, driven by the other owners' desire to exclude Eddie Livingstone. The Arenas' temporary status and informal operations—players paid in cash without formal contracts—reflected the league's uncertain early days. Winning the Stanley Cup in 1917–18 established Toronto as a hockey market, though the team's legal and financial instability led to its withdrawal after the 1918–19 season. The sale and renaming to the St. Patricks in December 1919 set the stage for the franchise's eventual evolution into the Maple Leafs. The NHL uses the abbreviation TAN to distinguish player records of the Toronto Arenas from subsequent iterations. The team's legacy is complicated by the Maple Leafs' decision not to claim the pre-NHL Blueshirts' history, but they do claim the 1917–18 temporary franchise's history, making the Arenas a foundational part of one of the NHL's most storied franchises.

Did You Know?

• The Toronto Arenas won the Stanley Cup in their first season, 1917–18, but did not engrave their name on the Cup.
• Players were often paid in cash or personal cheques on a week-by-week basis due to the team's temporary legal status.

Born from a Broken League

The Toronto Arenas were born out of a bitter ownership conflict. In the fall of 1917, Eddie Livingstone, who controlled the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts, found himself at odds with the other four NHA club owners—the Canadiens, Wanderers, Senators, and Bulldogs. Unable to vote Livingstone out under the NHA's own constitution, the board suspended operations on November 22. The four remaining clubs then founded the NHL, deliberately excluding Livingstone and leaving him with a one-team league. Yet they recognized the need for a Toronto presence and a fourth team to balance the schedule after the Bulldogs folded. NHL president Frank Calder assigned the Blueshirts' player contracts to a temporary franchise run by the Toronto Arena Company, which also owned the Montreal Arena. Livingstone refused multiple buyout offers, and while the Arena Company agreed to compensate him, no final figure was ever settled. The league itself disputed any claim Livingstone held over the players.

Inaugural Glory Under Uncertain Grounds

During the 1917-18 season, the team operated without a formal organizational identity separate from the Arena Company and had no official club nickname. The press simply called them the "Blue Shirts" or "Torontos," echoing the name of Livingstone's former franchise. Many players held contracts with both Livingstone and the new Toronto outfit, often receiving weekly cash payments or personal cheques. Despite this legal ambiguity, the team thrived under coach Dick Carroll and general manager Charlie Querrie. They won the second half of the regular season, defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the playoff, and then captured the Stanley Cup by defeating the Vancouver Millionaires three games to two in a best-of-five series. Notably, the team did not engrave its name on the Cup, a practice that would only become standard later. The Arena Gardens served as their sole venue, and the players had little choice but to suit up for the Arena team if they wished to remain in the NHL.

A New Corporation, a New Name

After the Cup triumph, the Arena Company was granted a permanent NHL franchise. However, the ownership dispute with Livingstone intensified. He demanded $20,000 for the players, while the Arena Company offered only $6,000, prompting another lawsuit. Rather than return the players or pay Livingstone, the Arena Company surrendered its temporary franchise to the NHL and immediately incorporated a new entity—the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, popularly known as the Toronto Arenas—with auditor Hubert Vearncombe as president. This new corporation was designed to exist independently of any pending legal action. The club was promptly admitted as a full NHL member. The Arena Company also restricted the Arena Gardens to NHL teams only, effectively blocking Livingstone's attempts to revive the NHA. The Maple Leafs themselves acknowledge they were known as the Arenas during this first permanent season, though the name was not formally recorded to mark the 1918 Cup win until 1947.

Collapse and the Seeds of a Dynasty

The second season proved disastrous. The Arenas managed just five wins against thirteen losses, finishing last in both halves of the schedule. Attendance was dismal, with only a few hundred fans showing up for a February 4, 1919 matchup against the Canadiens. Several key players, including Harry Holmes, Harry Meeking, and Dave Ritchie, departed the roster. The underlying cause was the team's precarious legal status: most players remained technically "property" of the Blueshirts, lacked formal contracts, and were paid informally in cash. The frustration was so great that the team wrote to Calder requesting the season be cut short, and it ended after just eighteen games. Despite this rocky start, the permanent franchise granted to the Arena Company became the direct ancestor of today's Toronto Maple Leafs. Unlike the Canadiens and Senators, the Leafs do not claim the pre-NHL Blueshirts era as part of their history, since the NHL was created specifically to exclude that franchise. They do, however, trace their lineage back to the 1917-18 temporary Toronto team.