Toronto Maple Leafs
Eight Stanley Cups, longest drought in NHL history.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often called the Leafs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment owns the club, and its broadcasting rights are divided between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications. The franchise began as the Toronto Arenas for the NHL’s first season in 1917–18, then became the Toronto St. Patricks two years later. After buying the team in 1927, Conn Smythe renamed it the Maple Leafs. The team spent its first 14 seasons at the Mutual Street Arena, moved to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931, and has played at Scotiabank Arena (formerly Air Canada Centre) since February 1999.
Only the Montreal Canadiens have won more Stanley Cup championships or played more NHL seasons than Toronto. The Leafs had two recognized dynasties: from 1946–47 to 1950–51 and from 1961–62 to 1966–67, winning a combined eight Stanley Cups in those eleven seasons. That success was followed by a championship drought that, at 57 seasons, is the longest in league history. The team has rivalries with the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators. Their American Hockey League affiliate is the Toronto Marlies. Several people associated with the club are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and nineteen players have had their numbers retired by the Maple Leafs, including the first such retirement in professional sports.
The NHL formed in 1917 in Montreal from teams that left the National Hockey Association (NHA) after a dispute with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts. The other four clubs—Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Quebec Bulldogs, and Ottawa Senators—could not vote Livingstone out under the NHA’s rules, so they created the NHL and left him out. They remained NHA voting members and suspended that league, leaving Livingstone with only one team. The NHL planned a four-team circuit: the Canadiens, Wanderers, Ottawa, and a club in either Quebec City or Toronto. Toronto’s inclusion was announced on November 26, 1917, amid concerns about the Bulldogs’ finances.
Quick Facts
- Can Eng
- 1
- Team Name
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Text Color
- #000000
- Conference
- Eastern
- Division
- Atlantic
- Founded
- 1917
- History
- Toronto Hockey Club / 1917–1918 / Toronto Arenas / 1918–1919 / Toronto St. Patricks / 1919–1927 / Toronto Maple Leafs / 1927–present
- Arena
- Scotiabank Arena
- City
- Toronto, Ontario
- Team Colors
- Blue, white / #00205B #FFFFFF
- Media Affiliates
- Sportsnet Ontario / TSN4 / Sportsnet 590 The Fan / TSN Radio 1050
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The franchise was founded as the Toronto Arenas for the inaugural 1917–18 NHL season and rebranded to the Toronto St. Patricks two years later. Conn Smythe renamed the franchise to the Maple Leafs after buying it in 1927, choosing the maple leaf as a national symbol and a tribute to Canadian soldiers. The team played home games at the Mutual Street Arena for its first 14 seasons before moving to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931, where Foster Hewitt began his famous Hockey Night in Canada radio broadcasts from a press box called 'the gondola.' Since February 1999, the Maple Leafs have played at Scotiabank Arena.
The club had two recognized dynasties spanning the 1946–47 to 1950–51 seasons and the 1961–62 to 1966–67 seasons, during which the Leafs won a combined eight of eleven Stanley Cup championships. These successes were followed by an extended championship drought, which at 57 seasons is the longest in league history. The Maple Leafs have rivalries with the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Ottawa Senators. Several individuals associated with the club have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and nineteen players have had their numbers retired by the team.
Reader's Guide
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the NHL's original franchises, having been founded in 1917 as the Toronto Arenas and winning the Stanley Cup in the league's inaugural season. The team's identity was shaped by Conn Smythe, who renamed it the Maple Leafs in 1927 and established the blue-and-white colour scheme. The club's two dynasties—from 1946–47 to 1950–51 and from 1961–62 to 1966–67—produced eight Stanley Cup championships in eleven seasons, cementing the Leafs as one of the most successful teams in NHL history. However, the franchise has not won a championship since 1967, a drought that at 57 seasons is the longest in league history. The team's move to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931 and later to Scotiabank Arena in 1999 marked significant shifts in its home-ice history. The Leafs maintain intense rivalries with several teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, and Detroit Red Wings. The club's AHL affiliate is the Toronto Marlies, and its ownership by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment ties it to a broader portfolio of professional sports teams in Toronto.
Did You Know?
- The franchise performed the first trade in NHL history, sending Sammy Hebert to the Senators for cash.
- Conn Smythe renamed the team the Maple Leafs after the national symbol of Canada, inspired by his experiences as a Canadian Army officer and prisoner of war during World War I.
- The team's .278 winning percentage in the 1918–19 season remains the worst in franchise history.
- The 1919 Stanley Cup Final ended without a winner due to the worldwide flu epidemic.
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