toronto maple leafs - history

8/8/2019 Toronto Maple Leafs - History

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Toronto Maple Leafs

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"Leafs" redirects here. For other uses, see Leafs (disambiguation).For other uses, see Toronto Maple Leafs (disambiguation).

Toronto Maple Leafs

201011 Toronto Maple Leafs season

Conference Eastern

Division Northeast

Founded 1917

History

Toronto Blueshirts191718

Toronto Arenas191819

Toronto St. Patricks

1919 February 14, 1927

Toronto Maple Leafs

February 14, 1927 present

Home arena Air Canada Centre


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City Toronto, Ontario

Colours

Blue and white

Media

Leafs TV

Rogers Sportsnet Ontario

TSN

CFMJ (640 AM)

Owner(s)

Maple Leaf Sports &

Entertainment Ltd.

(Larry Tanenbaum, chairman)

General manager Brian Burke

Head coach Ron Wilson

Captain Dion Phaneuf

Minor league

affiliates

Toronto Marlies (AHL)

Reading Royals (ECHL)

Stanley Cups

13 (191718, 192122, 193132,

194142, 194445, 194647, 1947

48, 194849, 195051, 196162,

196263, 196364, 196667)

Conference

championships0

Presidents' Trophy 0


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Division

championships

5 (193233, 193334, 193435,

193738, 199900)

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario,

Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the NationalHockey League (NHL). The organization, one of the "Original Six" members of the NHL, isofficially known as the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and is the leading subsidiary ofMaple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). They have played at the Air Canada Centre (ACC)since 1999, after 68 years at Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto won their last Stanley Cup in 1967.

The Leafs are well known for their long and bitterrivalries with the Montreal Canadiens and theOttawa Senators. The franchise's 13 championships are second only to the Canadiens, who have24. Toronto has won eleven Stanley Cups as the Maple Leafs since the cup became solelycompeted for within the NHL in 1927, and two cups prior to this: one as the St. Patricks, and oneas the Arenas. However, the Leafs have not won the Cup at all since 1967, the longest-active

Cup drought in the NHL, and thus are the only Original Six team that has not won the Cup sincethe 1967 NHL expansion.

At $470 million US (in 2009), the Leafs are the most valuable team in the NHL, followed by theNew York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens.[1]

Contents

[hide]

y 1 Team history o 1.1 Early years o 1.2 Conn Smythe era

1.2.1 1930s: Opening of Maple Leaf Gardens and first Maple Leaf dynasty 1.2.2 1940s: A second decade of success 1.2.3 1950s: The Barilko Curse

o 1.3 1960s: New owners and a new dynasty o 1.4 1970s and 1980s: The Ballard years o 1.5 Early 1990s: Resurgence o 1.6 A new home and a new millennium o 1.7 Post-lockout era

1.7.1 Brian Burke era y 2 Rivalries y 3 Fan base y 4 Season-by-season record y 5 Players

o 5.1 Current rostero 5.2 Honoured members

5.2.1 Players


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5.2.2 Builders o 5.3 Team captains o 5.4 Franchise scoring leaders

y 6 Facilities y 7 Farm teams

o 7.1 Historical o 7.2 Current

y 8 See also y 9 References and notes y 10 External links

Team history

Main article: History of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Early years

Original Logo (1927)

The National Hockey League was formed in 1917 in Montreal by teams formerly belonging tothe National Hockey Association (NHA) that had a dispute with Eddie Livingstone, owner of theToronto Blueshirts. The owners of the other four clubs the Montreal Canadiens, MontrealWanderers, Quebec Bulldogs, and Ottawa Senators wanted to get rid of Livingstone, butdiscovered that the NHA constitution did not allow them to simply vote him out of the league.

Instead, they opted to create a new league, the NHL, and did not invite Livingstone to join them.They also remained voting members of the NHA, and thus had enough votes to suspend the otherleague's operations, effectively leaving Livingstone's squad in a one-team league.

However, the other clubs felt it would be unthinkable not to have a team from Toronto (Canada'ssecond largest city at the time) in the new league. They also needed another team to balance theschedule after the Bulldogs suspended operations (and as it turned out, would not ice a team until1920). Accordingly, the NHL granted a "temporary" Toronto franchise to the Arena Company,


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owners of the Arena Gardens. The Arena Company was allowed to lease the Blueshirts' players,but was given until the end of the season to resolve the dispute with Livingstone. This temporaryfranchise did not have an official name, but was informally called "the Blueshirts" or "theTorontos" by the fans and press. Under managerCharlie Querrie and coach Dick Carroll, theToronto team won the Stanley Cup in the NHL's inaugural season. Although the roster was

composed almost entirely of former Blueshirts, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts'history as their own.

For the next season, rather than return the Blueshirts' players to Livingstone as originallypromised, the Arena Company formed its own team, the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, which wasreadily granted full-fledged membership in the NHL. Also that year, the Arena Company boarddecided that only NHL teams would be allowed to play at the Arena Gardensa move whicheffectively killed the NHA.[2] Livingstone sued to get his players back. Mounting legal bills fromthe dispute forced the Arenas to sell most of their stars, resulting in a horrendous five-win seasonin 191819. When it was obvious that the Arenas would not be able to finish out the season, theNHL agreed to let the Arenas halt operations on February 20, 1919 and proceed directly to the

playoffs.T

he Arenas' .278 winning percentage that season is still the worst in franchise history.However, since the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals ended without a winner due to the worldwide fluepidemic, the Arenas proclaimed themselves champions by default.

The legal dispute forced the Arena Company into bankruptcy, and it was forced to put theArenas up for sale. Querrie put together a group that mainly consisted of the people who had runthe senior amateur St. Patricks team in the Ontario Hockey Association. The new ownersrenamed the team the Toronto St. Patricks (or St. Pats for short) and would operate it until 1927.This period saw the team's jersey colours change from blue to green, as well as a second StanleyCup championship in 1922.

During this time, the St. Patricks also allowed other teams to play in the Arena whenever theirhome rinks lacked proper ice in the warmer months. At the time, the Arena was the only facilityeast ofManitoba with artificial ice.[2]

Part of the series on

Evolution of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Teams

Toronto Pro HC (OPHL) (19081909)Toronto Blueshirts (NHA) (19121917)

Torontos (NHL) (19171918)Toronto Arenas (NHL) (191819)

Toronto St. Patricks (NHL) (191927)Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) (1927present)

Ice hockey portal vde

Conn Smythe era


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Querrie lost a lawsuit to Livingstone and decided to put the St. Pats up for sale. He gave seriousconsideration to a $200,000 bid from a Philadelphia group. However, Toronto Varsity Graduatescoach Conn Smythe put together an ownership group of his own and made a $160,000 offer forthe franchise. With the support of St. Pats shareholderJ. P. Bickell, Smythe persuaded Querrie toreject the Philadelphia bid, arguing that civic pride was more important than money.

After taking control on Valentine's Day 1927, Smythe immediately renamed the team the MapleLeafs (the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team had won the International League championship afew months earlier and had been using that name for 30 years). The Maple Leafs say that thename was chosen in honour of the Maple Leaf Regiment from World War I. As the regiment is aproper noun, its plural is formed by adding a simple 's' creating Maple Leafs (not *MapleLeaves). Another story says that Smythe named the team after a team he had once scouted, calledthe East Toronto Maple Leafs, while Smythe's grandson states that Conn named the team afterthe Maple Leaf insignia he had worn during the First World War.[3] Initial reports were that theteam's colours would be changed to red and white,[4] but the Leafs were wearing white sweaterswith a green maple leaf for their first game on February 17, 1927. [5]The next season, the Leafs

appeared for the first time in the blue and white sweaters they have worn ever since.T

he MapleLeafs say that blue represents the Canadian skies and white represents snow, but it also followsthe tradition of blue being Toronto's principal sporting colour starting with the TorontoArgonauts in 1873 and the University ofTorontoVarsity Blues in 1877 (and later the TorontoBlue Jays in 1977).

1930s: Opening of Maple Leaf Gardens and first Maple Leaf dynasty

Toronto Maple Leafs opening night program at MLG, November 12, 1931


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After four more lacklustre seasons (including three with Smythe as coach), Smythe and the Leafsdebuted at their new arena, Maple Leaf Gardens, with a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Black Hawks onNovember 12, 1931.

Led by the "Kid Line" (Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher) and coach Dick

Irvin, the Leafs would capture their third Stanley Cup during the first season in their stadium,vanquishing the Montreal Maroons in the first round, the Boston Bruins in the semifinals, andthe New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Smythe took particular pleasure in defeatingthe Rangers that year; he had been tapped as the Rangers' first general manager and coach in theRangers' inaugural season (192627), but had been fired in a dispute with Madison SquareGarden management before the season.

The Leafs' star forward, Ace Bailey, was nearly killed in 1933 when Boston Bruins defencemanEddie Shore checked him from behind into the boards at full speed. Maple Leafs defencemanRed Hornerwas able to knock Shore out with a punch, but it was too late as Bailey, who was bynow writhing on the ice, had his career ended. The Leafs would hold the NHL's first All-Star

Game to benefit Bailey.

The Leafs would reach the Finals five more times in the next seven years, but would not win,bowing out to the now-defunct Maroons in 1935, the Detroit Red Wings in 1936, the ChicagoBlack Hawks in 1938, Boston in 1939, and the hated Rangers in 1940. At this time, Smytheallowed Irvin to go to Montreal to help revive the then-moribund Canadiens, replacing him ascoach with former Leafs captain Hap Day.

1940s: A second decade of success

Logo (1938/391966/67)

In the 1942 season, the Maple Leafs were down three games to none in a best-of-seven final inthe playoffs against Detroit. However, fourth-line forward Don Metz would galvanize the team,coming from nowhere to score a hat-trickin game four and the game-winning goal in game five,with the Leafs winning both times. CaptainSyl Apps had won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophythat season, not taking one penalty and finishing his ten-season career with an average of 5minutes, 36 seconds in penalties a season. Goalie Turk Broda would shut out the Wings in game


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six, and Sweeney Schrinerwould score two goals in the third period to win the seventh game 3-1.

Apps told writerTrent Frayne in 1949, "If you want me to be pinned down to my [biggest nightin hockey but also my] biggest second, I'd say it was the last tick of the clock that sounded the

final bell. It's something I shall never forget at all." It was the first time a major pro sports teamcame back from behind 3-0 to win a best-of-seven championship series.

Three years later, with their heroes from 1942 dwindling (due to either age, health, or the war),the Leafs turned to lesser-known players like rookie goalie Frank McCool and defencemanBabePratt. They would upset the Red Wings in the 1945 finals.

The powerful defending champion Montreal Canadiens and their "Punch Line" (Maurice"Rocket" Richard, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach), would be the Leafs' nemesis two years laterwhen the two teams clashed in the 1947 finals. Ted "Teeder" Kennedy would score the game-winning goal late in game six to win the Leafs their first of three straight Cupsthe first time

any NHL team had accomplished that feat. With their Cup victory in 1948, the Leafs movedahead of Montreal for the most Stanley Cups in league history. It would take the Canadiens 10years to reclaim the record.

1950s: The Barilko Curse

Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, is greeted by Ted Kennedy at Maple Leaf Gardens,with Conn Smythe behind, 1951.

The Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens would meet once again in the finals in 1951, with all

five games going to overtime. Tod Sloan scored with 42 seconds left in the third period of gamefive to send it to an extra period, and defenceman Bill Barilko, who had scored only six goals inthe regular season, scored the game-winner to win Toronto their fourth Cup in five years.Barilko's glory, however, was short-lived: he disappeared in a plane crash nearTimmins,Ontario, barely four months after that moment. The Leafs would not win the Cup again thatdecade.


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1960s: New owners and a new dynasty

Before the 196162 season, Smythe sold nearly all of his shares in Maple Leaf Gardens to apartnership composed of his son Stafford Smythe, newspaper baron John Bassett, and TorontoMarlboros president Harold Ballard. The sale price was $2.3 million, a handsome return on

Smythe's original investment 34 years earlier. Conn Smythe later claimed that he knew nothingabout his son's partners, but it is very unlikely that he could have believed Stafford could haveraised the money on his own.

Under the new ownership trio, Toronto won another three straight Stanley Cups from 1962 to1964. The team featured Hall of Famers Frank Mahovlich, Red Kelly, Johnny Bower, DaveKeon, Andy Bathgate, and Tim Horton, and was helmed by coach and general managerPunchImlach.

In 1967, the Leafs and Canadiens met in the Cup finals for the last time to date, where Montrealwas considered to be a heavy favourite. But Bob Pulford scored the double-overtime winner in

Game 3, Jim Pappin got the series winner in Game 6, and Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy asMost Valuable Playerof the playoffs as the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in six games. TheLeafs have not won the Stanley Cup since.

In 1968, Mahovlich was traded to Detroit in a blockbuster deal, and in 1969, following a first-round playoff loss to the Bruins, Smythe fired Imlach. Horton declared, "If this team doesn'twant Imlach, I guess it doesn't want me."[citation needed] He was traded to the New York Rangersthenext year.

1970s and 1980s: The Ballard years

Following Stafford Smythe's death, Harold Ballard bought his shares to take majority control ofthe team. Ballard's controversial term as the Leafs' owner was marked by several disputes withprominent players, including Keon, Lanny McDonald, and Darryl Sittler, poor win/loss records,and not a single Stanley Cup championship.

During the 1970s, with the overall talent level in the league diluted by the addition of 12 newfranchises and the birth of the rival World Hockey Association (WHA), the Leafs were able toice competitive teams for several seasons. But despite the presence of stars such as Sittler,McDonald, Dave "Tiger" Williams, Ian Turnbull, and Borje Salming, they only once made itpast the second round of the playoffs, besting the New York Islanders (a soon-to-be dynasty) inthe 1978 quarter-finals only to be swept by arch-rival Montreal in the semi-finals. One of the few

highlights from this era occurred on February 7, 1976, when Sittler scored six goals and fourassists against the Bruins to establish a NHL single-game points record that still stands more than30 years later.

The serious decline started in July 1979, when Ballard brought back Imlach, a long-time friend,as general manager. Imlach traded McDonald to undermine his friend Sittler's influence on theteam.[6] Sittler himself was gone two years later, when the Leafs traded him to the Philadelphia


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Flyers. He was the franchise's all-time leading scorer until Mats Sundin passed Sittler's total in2007.

The McDonald trade sent the Leafs into a downward spiral. They finished five games under .500and barely made the playoffs. For the next 12 years, the Leafs (who had shifted to the Norris

Division for the 198182 season) were barely competitive, not posting another winning recorduntil 199293. They missed the playoffs six times and finished above fourth in their divisiononly once (in 1990, the only season where they even posted a .500 record). They made it beyondthe first round of the playoffs twice (in 1986 and 1987, advancing to the division finals). The lowpoint came in 198485, when they finished 32 games under .500, the second-worst record infranchise history (their .300 winning percentage was only 22 percentage points higher than the191819 Arenas).

The Leafs' poor records during the 1980s, however, did result in several high draft picks. WendelClark, the first overall pick in the 1985 draft, was the lone success from the entry drafts of thisperiod and went on to captain the team.

Early 1990s: Resurgence

Ballard died in 1990, and Steve Stavro, Don Crump and Don Giffin were executors of his will.Calgary Flames GM Cliff Fletcher, who had crafted the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup championshipteam, was hired by Don Giffin to run the team against the objections of Stavro who told Fletcherdirectly that he wanted to install his own man.[7]

Fletcher immediately set about building a club that would be competitive once again, making aseries of trades and free agent acquisitions which turned the Leafs from an also-ran to acontender almost overnight, starting in 199293. Outstanding play from forwards Doug Gilmour

(an acquaintance of Fletcher's from Calgary) and Dave Andreychuk(acquired from the BuffaloSabres in exchange forGrant Fuhr), as well as stellar goaltending from minor league call-upFelix Potvin, led the team to a then-franchise-record 99 points, third place in the Norris Division,and the eighth-best overall record in the league. Toronto dispatched the Detroit Red Wings inseven games in the first round, then defeated the St. Louis Blues in another seven games in theDivision Finals.

Hoping to meet long-time rival Montreal (who was playing in the Wales Conference Finalsagainst the New York Islanders) in the Cup Finals, the Leafs faced the Los Angeles Kings in theCampbell Conference Finals. The Leafs led the series 3-2, but dropped Game 6 in Los Angeles.The game was not without controversy, as Wayne Gretzky clipped Gilmour in the face with his

stick, but referee Kerry Fraserdid not call a penalty and Gretzky scored the winning goalmoments later.[8] Gretzky's hat-trickin Game 7 finished the Leafs' run, and it was the Kings thatmoved on to the Cup Finals against the Canadiens.

The Leafs had another strong season in 199394, finishing with 98 points, good enough for fifthoverall in the league their highest finish in 16 years. However, despite finishing one pointabove Calgary, Toronto was seeded third in the Western Conference (formerly the CampbellConference) by virtue of the Flames' Pacific Division title. The Leafs eliminated the division


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rival Chicago Blackhawks in six games and the surprising San Jose Sharks in seven beforefalling to the Vancouver Canucks in five games in the Western Conference Finals. At that year'sdraft, the Leafs would package Clark in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques that netted them MatsSundin.

A new home and a new millennium

In 1996, Stavro took on Larry Tanenbaum, the co-founder ofToronto's new National BasketballAssociation (NBA) team, the Toronto Raptors, as a partner. Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. wasaccordingly renamed Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), to be the parent company ofthe Leafs and the Raptors. MLSE has expanded since then, adding the Toronto Marlies (theLeafs' farm team) of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Toronto FC ofMajor LeagueSoccer(MLS) to its stable of franchises.

After two years out of the playoffs in the late 1990s, the Leafs acquired goaltenderCurtis Josephas a free agent from the Edmonton Oilers and signed Pat Quinn, who had been fired by

Vancouver in 1997, to serve as head coach. This resulted in the Leafs making another chargeduring the 1999 playoffs after moving from Maple Leaf Gardens to the new Air Canada Centre,shared with the Toronto Raptors. The team eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers and PittsburghPenguins in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but lost in five games to the Buffalo Sabres inthe Eastern Conference Finals.

Toronto reached the second round of the playoffs in both 2000 and 2001, only to lose both timesto the New Jersey Devils, who made the Stanley Cup Finals both seasons and won in 2000. The2000 season was particularly notable because it marked the Leafs' first division title in 37 years,as well as the franchise's first-ever 100-point season. The season ended on a particular low,however, with the Leafs being held to just 6 shots in game six of the second round against the

Devils.

In 2002, the Leafs dispatched the Islanders and theirOntario rivals, the Ottawa Senators, in thefirst two rounds, only to lose to the Cinderella-storyCarolina Hurricanes in the ConferenceFinals. The 2002 season was particularly impressive in that the Leafs had many of their betterplayers sidelined by injuries, but managed to make it to the conference finals due to the efforts oflesser-known players who were led mainly by Gary Roberts and Alyn McCauley.

Joseph left to go to the defending champion Red Wings in the 2002 off-season; the team found areplacement in veteran Ed Belfour, who came over from the Dallas Stars and had been a crucialpart of their 1999 Stanley Cup run. Belfour could not help their playoff woes in the 2003

playoffs, however, as the team lost to Philadelphia in seven games in the first round. 2003 alsowitnessed a change in the ownership ranks, as Stavro sold his controlling interest in MLSE to theOntario Teachers' Pension Plan and resigned his position as Chairman of the Board in favour ofTanenbaum. Stavro died in 2006.

The 200304 season started in an uncommon way for the team, as they held their training campin Sweden and played in the NHL Challenge against teams from Sweden and Finland. That year,the Leafs had a very successful regular season, posting a franchise-record 103 points. They


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finished with the fourth-best record in the league (their best overall finish in 41 years) and alsomanaged a .628 win percentage, their best in 43 years and the third-best in franchise history.Toronto defeated the Senators in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years,but lost to the Flyers in the second round in six games.

Post-lockout era

Following the 200405 NHL lockout, the Leafs have experienced very rough times. Theystruggled in 200506, and despite a late-season surge (9-1-2 in their final 12), led by third-stringgoaltenderJean-Sebastien Aubin, the Leafs were eliminated from playoff contention for the firsttime since 1998. This marked the first time that the team missed the playoffs under coach PatQuinn, and he was fired shortly after the season. Paul Maurice, an experienced NHL coach whohad just coached the Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, in theirinaugural season, was announced as Pat Quinn's replacement. On June 30, 2006, the Maple Leafsbought out the contract of long-time fan favourite, Tie Domi. In addition to Domi, the MapleLeafs also decided against picking up the option year on the contract of goaltenderEd Belfour.

Both players became free agents on July 1, 2006, effectively ending their tenures with theToronto Maple Leafs. However, despite the coaching change and addition of new players such asPavel Kubina and Michael Peca, the Leafs again did not make the playoffs in 200607.

The alternate logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is a monogram containing the initialism ofthe team's name

For200708, the Leafs brought in players such as Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala while JeffO'Neill and J.S. Aubin left. On January 22, 2008, general managerJohn Ferguson, Jr. was firedand was replaced by Cliff Fletcher[9] on an interim basis. Though it was expected by some thatthe Leafs could make the playoffs, they ended up missing again. It was the first time that theLeafs had missed the playoffs three years in a row since before even the days of the Maple LeafGardens. 2007-08 was also Mats Sundin's last year with the Leafs. On May 7, the Leafs fired

head coach Paul Maurice and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur, and replaced them with formerSan Jose Sharks coach, Ron Wilson, and assistants Tim Hunterand Rob Zettler.[10]

Brian Burke era

On November 29, 2008, the Maple Leafs hired Brian Burke as their 13th non-interim GeneralManager (first American) in team history. The acquisition of Burke had ended the second CliffFletcher era and settled rumours that Brian was coming to Toronto within the next year.[11]


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On September 18, 2009, Burke made a blockbuster trade with the Boston Bruins for forward PhilKessel. Along with completing the trade, Toronto quickly signed Kessel to a five-year, $27million contract. The Leafs gave Boston their first (Tyler Seguin) and second round (JaredKnight) Entry Draft selections in 2010, as well as a first round Entry Draft pick in 2011.[12]

On January 31, 2010 the Leafs made a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames, which sentNiklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers, and Ian White, in exchange forFredrik Sjostrom,Keith Aulie, and Dion Phaneuf.[13]

On June 14, 2010, the Leafs named Dion Phaneufas captain after the two seasons without acaptain following Sundin's departure.[14]

On June 30, 2010, the Leafs made another big trade, this time with the reigning Stanley CupChampions, the Chicago Blackhawks, acquiring forward Kris Versteeg, along with the rights toprospect Bill Sweatt in exchange for forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico, and PhilippeParadis.[15]

Rivalries

See also: National Hockey League rivalries

The Hockey Knights in Canada Leafs mural is installed in 1984 on the southbound side ofToronto's College Station, the nearest station to Maple Leaf Gardens

As one of the oldest teams in the league, the Leafs have developed numerous rivalries. Thedeepest of these is with the Montreal Canadiens, which is acknowledged as one of the richestrivalries in ice hockey.[16]The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, while the Leafs have won13, putting them at first and second place in NHL history, respectively. The Canadiens' fan pointof view is perhaps most famously captured in the popular Canadian short story "The Hockey

Sweater", by Roch Carrier, originally published in French as "Une abominable feuille d'rablesur la glace" ("An abominable maple leaf on the ice") referring to the Maple Leafs sweater hismother forces him to wear. This rivalry is also evident in Toronto's Collegesubway station, inwhich the northbound side of the station has the mural depicting the Canadiens and thesouthbound side has the Leafs mural.

The rivalry between the Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, known as the Battle of Ontario, hasheated up since the late 1990s, owing in no small part to the Canadiens' struggles during that


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period. While Ottawa has dominated during most of the teams' regular season matchups in recentyears, the Leafs have won all four postseason series between the two teams, including a four-game sweep. However, the rivalry has somewhat diminished since the lockout, owing largely tothe Leafs' failure to make the postseason since that time.

One of the Leafs' biggest U.S.-based rivals of late have been the Philadelphia Flyers, whodefeated the Leafs in the 2003 and 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The rivalry goes back to the1970s when the Flyers and Leafs had the reputation as being two of the toughest (and often mostpenalized) teams in the league. Games between the two teams are still often very physical.

The Buffalo Sabres have also been cited[by whom?] as notable American rivals of the Leafs. Buffalois the NHL team that is geographically closest to Toronto, with an approximately 140-kilometre(87 mi) long drive along the Queen Elizabeth Way.

The Leafs also maintain a traditional Original Six rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings. The teams'close proximity to each other the two cities are approximately 380 kilometres (240 mi)

apart and a number of shared fans (particularly in markets such as Windsor, Ontario) meansthe rivalry is found more in the crowd than on the ice. However, since the Maple Leafs moved tothe Eastern Conference in 1998, the two teams have faced each other less often each season.

Fan base

Maple Leafs fans are known by the collective nickname "Leafs Nation", which the club uses onits website. Maple Leafs home games have long been one of the toughest tickets to acquire inCanada, even during lean periods.[17] As of 2008, there is a waiting list of about 2,500 names forseason tickets. Earlier, they sold out every game at Maple Leaf Gardens from 1946 until thebuilding closed in 1999.[18]The Leafs have also sold out every game at the Air Canada Centre

since October 2002.[19][further explanation needed] With an average of US$1.9 million per game, theLeafs had the highest average ticket revenue per game in the 200708 season; the previousseason they earned about $1.5 million per game.[20]

Conversely, there is an equally passionate dislike of the team by fans of several other NHLteams. In November 2002, the Leafs were named by Sports Illustratedhockey writer MichaelFarber as the "Most Hated Team in Hockey".[21] Leafs fans are also known for being loyaldespite being treated poorlyin a 2008 survey by ESPN The Magazine on rewarding fans, theLeafs were ranked 121st out of the 122 professional teams in the Big Four leagues. Teams weregraded by stadium experience, ownership, player quality, ticket affordability, championshipswon and "bang for the buck"; in particular, the Leafs came last in ticket affordability.[22]

In the United States, several cities in the Sun Belt have sizable numbers of Leaf fans, since manySnowbirds tend to flock to locales such as Atlanta,[23]Phoenix, Tampa Bay, and Miami duringthe winter, resulting in a boost in turnout and ticket sales when these franchises play the MapleLeafs.[citation needed]


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The mascot of the Toronto Maple Leafs is Carlton the Bear, an anthropomorphicpolar bearwhose name and number (#60) comes from the location ofMaple Leaf Gardens, at 60 CarltonStreet in that city, where they played throughout much of their history.

Season-by-season record

Main article: List of Toronto Maple Leafs seasons

Note: GP= Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts =

Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs

200506 82 41 33 8 90 257 270 1291 4th, Northeast Did not qualify

200607 82 40 31 11 91 258 269 1065 3rd, Northeast Did not qualify

200708 82 36 35 11 83 231 260 1087 5th, Northeast Did not qualify

200809 82 34 35 13 81 250 293 1113 5th, Northeast Did not qualify200910 82 30 38 14 74 214 267 1091 5th, Northeast Did not qualify

Players

Current roster

view talk edit

Updated December 6, 2010.[24]

# Nat

Player Pos S/G AgeAcquired

Birthplace

9 Colby Armstrong RW R 28 2010 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

59 Keith Aulie D R 21 2010 Regina, Saskatchewan

22 FrancoisBeauchemin (A)

D L 30 2009 Sorel-Tracy, Quebec

42 Tyler Bozak C R 24 2009 Regina, Saskatchewan

37 Tim Brent C R 26 2009 Cambridge, Ontario

18 Mike Brown RW R 25 2010 Northbrook, Illinois

46 Joey Crabb RW R 27 2010 Anchorage, Alaska

35 Jean-SebastienGiguere

G L 33 2010 Montreal, Quebec

84 Mikhail Grabovski C L 26 2008 Potsdam, East Germany

36 Carl Gunnarsson D L 24 2007 rebro, Sweden

50 Jonas Gustavsson G L 26 2009 Stockholm, Sweden


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55 Korbinian Holzer D R 22 2006 Munich, Germany

15 Tomas Kaberle (A) D L 32 1996 Rakovnk, Czechoslovakia

43 Nazem Kadri C L 20 2009 London, Ontario

81 Phil Kessel RW R 23 2009 Madison, Wisconsin

8 Mike Komisarek(A) D R 28 2009

West Islip, New York

41 Nikolai Kulemin LW L 24 2006Magnitogorsk, SovietUnion

23 Brett Lebda D L 28 2010 Buffalo Grove, Illinois

16 Clarke MacArthur LW L 25 2010 Lloydminster, Alberta

39 John Mitchell C L 25 2003 Oakville, Ontario

28 Colton Orr RW R 28 2009 Winnipeg, Manitoba

3 Dion Phaneuf(C) D L 25 2010 Edmonton, Alberta

34 James Reimer G L 22 2006 Winnipeg, Manitoba

38 Jay Rosehill LW L 25 2009 Olds, Alberta

2 Luke Schenn D R 21 2008 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

11 Fredrik Sjostrom LW L 27 2010 Frgelanda, Sweden

32 Kris Versteeg LW R 24 2010 Lethbridge, Alberta

Honoured members

Main article: List of Toronto Maple Leafs award winners

The following members of the Toronto Maple Leafs have been inducted into the Hockey Hall ofFame. The list includes anyone who played for the Leafs who was later inducted as a player. The

list of builders includes anyone inducted as a builder who spent any part of their career in acoaching, management, or ownership role with the Leafs.

Players

y Jack Adams, C, 192226, inducted 1959y Glenn Anderson, RW/LW, 199194, inducted 2008y Syl Apps, C, 193648, inducted 1961y George Armstrong, C, 195071, inducted 1975y Ace Bailey, LW, 192633, inducted 1978y Andy Bathgate, C, 196365, inducted 1978y Max Bentley, C, 194753, inducted 1966y Leo Boivin, D, 195155, inducted 1986y Johnny Bower, G, 195870, inducted 1976y Turk Broda, G, 193652, inducted 1967y Harry Cameron, D, 191723, inducted 1962y Gerry Cheevers, G, 196162, inducted 1985y King Clancy, D, 193036, inducted 1958y Sprague Cleghorn, D, 192021, inducted 1958


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y Charlie Conacher, RW, 192937, inducted 1961y Rusty Crawford, LW, 191719, inducted 1962y Hap Day, D, 192437, inducted 1961y Gordie Drillon, LW, 193742, inducted 1975y Dick Duff, LW, 195464, inducted 2006y Babe Dye, RW, 192026, 1930, inducted 1970y Fernie Flaman, D, 195054, inducted 1990y Ron Francis, C, 200304, inducted 2007y Grant Fuhr, G, 199193, inducted 2003y Mike Gartner, RW, 199496, inducted 2001y Eddie Gerard, D, 192122, inducted 1945y George Hainsworth, G, 193337, inducted 1961y Hap Holmes, G, 191719, inducted 1972y Red Horner, D, 192840, inducted 1965y Tim Horton, D, 195270, inducted 1977y Syd Howe, LW, 193132, inducted 1965y Busher Jackson, LW, 192939, inducted 1971y Red Kelly, D, 196067, inducted 1969y Ted Kennedy, C, 194357, inducted 1966y Dave Keon, C, 196075, inducted 1986y Brian Leetch, D, 2004, inducted 2009y Harry Lumley, G, 195256, inducted 1980y Frank Mahovlich, LW, 195768, inducted 1981y Lanny McDonald, RW, 197379, inducted 1992y Dickie Moore, LW, 196465, inducted 1974y Larry Murphy, D, 199597, inducted 2004y Frank Nighbor, C, 192930, inducted 1947y Reg Noble, LW, 191924, inducted 1962y Bert Olmstead, RW, 195862, inducted 1985y Bernie Parent, G, 197072, inducted 1984y Pierre Pilote, D, 196869, inducted 1975y Jacques Plante, G, 197073, inducted 1978y Babe Pratt, D, 194246, inducted 1966y Joe Primeau, C, 192736, inducted 1963y Marcel Pronovost, D, 196570, inducted 1978y Bob Pulford, LW, 195670, inducted 1991y Borje Salming, D, 197389, inducted 1996y Terry Sawchuk, G, 196467, inducted 1971y Sweeney Schriner, LW, 193946, inducted 1962y Darryl Sittler, C, 197082, inducted 1989y Allan Stanley, D, 195868, inducted 1981y Norm Ullman, C, 196875, inducted 1982y Harry Watson, LW, 194655, inducted 1994


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Builders

y Al Arbour, played forToronto 1961-66, inducted as a builder 1996y Harold Ballard, owner/executive/director, 195789, inducted 1977y J. P. Bickell, shareholder/director, 191951, inducted 1978y Cliff Fletcher, president/general manager/executive, 199197 and 20082009, inducted

2004y Jim Gregory, general manager, 196979, inducted 2007y Foster Hewitt, announcer, 192763, inducted 1965y Punch Imlach, coach/general manager, 195869 and 197980, inducted 1984y Dick Irvin, coach, 193140, inducted 1958y Frank Mathers, player/executive, 194852, inducted 1992y Howie Meeker, player/coach/general manager/broadcaster, 194657, inducted 1998y Roger Neilson, coach, 197779, inducted 2002y Bud Poile, player/executive, 194248, inducted 1990y Frank J. Selke, executive, 192946, inducted 1960y Conn Smythe, owner/executive/director, 192766, inducted 1958y Carl Voss, player/executive, 192629, inducted 1974

Team captains

y Bert Corbeau, 1927[25] y Hap Day, 192737y Charlie Conacher, 193738y Red Horner, 193840y Syl Apps, 194043y Bob Davidson, 194345y Syl Apps, 194548y Ted Kennedy, 194855y Sid Smith, 195556y Jimmy Thomson, 195657y Ted Kennedy, 1957y George Armstrong, 195769y Dave Keon, 196975y Darryl Sittler, 197579y No captain, 197980y Darryl Sittler, 198082y RickVaive, 198286


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y No captain, 198689y Rob Ramage, 198991yWendel Clark, 199194y Doug Gilmour, 199497y Mats Sundin, 19972008y No captain, 200810y Dion Phaneuf, 2010present

Franchise scoring leaders

Further information: List of Toronto Maple Leafs records

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history, as of the end of the 200910 season.

Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Legend:Pos = Position; GP= Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G =

Points per game; * = current Maple Leafs player

Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G

Mats Sundin C 981 420 567 9871.01

Darryl Sittler C 844 389 527 9161.09

Dave Keon C 1062 365 493 858.81

Borje Salming D 1099 148 620 768.70

George Armstrong

RW 1187 296 417 713.60Ron Ellis RW 1034 332 308 640.62

Frank Mahovlich LW 720 296 303 599.83

Bob Pulford LW 947 251 312 563.59

Ted Kennedy C 696 231 329 560.80

RickVaive RW 534 299 238 5371.01

Source: Toronto Maple Leafs Media Guide 200809.[26]

FacilitiesBesides the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs have a practice facility at the MasterCard Centre forHockey Excellence. Opened in 2009, it was built on the site of the formerLakeshore LionsArena (c. 1951). The practice facility has two rinks and is operated by the local Lions Club.

Farm teams


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Historical

y Syracuse Stars minor league farm team 1936-1940y Pittsburgh Hornets minor league farm team 1940-1956y Rochester Americans minor league farm team 1956-1968y Toronto Marlboros farm team 19271989y Markham Waxers former farm teamy Cincinnati Tigers minor league farm team 1981-1982y St. Catharines Saints 19821986y Newmarket Saints farm team 19861991y St. John's Maple Leafs farm team 1991-2005y Victoria Maple Leafs farm team 1964-1966y Columbia Inferno minor league farm team 20062008

Current

y Toronto Marlies farm team 2005presenty Reading Royals minor league farm team 2008present

See also

Toronto

portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toronto Maple Leafs

y Toronto Blueshirts (191217)y List ofToronto Maple Leafs players

References and notes

y Holzman, Morey (2002). Deceptions andDoublecross. Dundurn Press.y Lashway, John, ed (2008). Toronto Maple Leafs Media Guide 200809. Toronto Maple

Leafs.

1.^"NHL Team Valuations". Forbes. 2009-11-11. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/31/hockey-values-09_

T

oronto-Maple-Leafs_312012.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11.2.^ ab Hunter, Douglas (1997). Champions: The Illustrated History of Hockey's GreatestDynasties.Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN1572432166.

3.^Thomas Stafford Smythe and Kevin Shea, Centre Ice: The Smythe Family, the Gardens and theToronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club, Fenn Publishing, 2000, p. 36.

4.^ "Good-bye St. Pats, howdy Maple Leafs", The Globe, February 15, 1927, p. 6.5.^ "Toronto crumbles New York chances", The Globe, February 18, 1927, p. 8.6.^ Kernaghan, Jim (December 29, 1979). "Lanny McDonald trade has Sittler in tears". Toronto

Star: p. 1.


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7.^ Cox, Damien; Stellick, Gord (2004). '67, The Maple Leafs: TheirSensational Victory and theEnd of an Empire. Wiley. p. 12. ISBN0-470-83400-5.

8.^ Zeisberger, Mike (2007-04-07). "Better than a Game 7: Hockey icons' true colours showthrough". SLAM! Sports. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Zeisberger/2007/04/07/3944053-sun.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.

9.^"TSN : NHL Canada's Sports Leader". Archived from the original on 2008-01-23.http://web.archive.org/web/20080123114623/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=227906&hubname=. Retrieved 2008-01-22.

10.^"Maple Leafs fire head coach Paul Maurice". TSN.ca. May 7, 2008.http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=237026&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl. Retrieved 2008-05-07.

11.^"Leafs introduce Burke as new president and general manager". TSN.ca. November 29, 2008.http://tsn.ca/nhl/teams/story/?id=257760&hubname=nhl-maple_leafs. Retrieved 2009-01-21.

12.^"Kessel traded to Maple Leafs, signs 5-year, $27m contract". TSN. 2009-09-19.http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=291601.

13.^"FLAMES TRADE D PHANEUF TO MAPLE LEAFS IN SEVEN-PLAYER DEAL". tsn.ca.January 31, 2010. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=308469. Retrieved January 31, 2010.

14.^"Maple Leafs introduce Phaneuf as team's captain". CTV.com. June 14, 2010.http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100614/toronto-leafs-phaneuf-captain-100614/20100614/?hub=OttawaHome. Retrieved June 14, 2010.

15.^"Leafs add Versteeg". June 30,2010.http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/trade/2010/06/30/leafs_versteeg.

16.^"The Rivalry". TSN. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10912&hubname=. Retrieved 2008-04-24.

17.^ Hornsby, Lance (2006-10-18). "Avs, Leafs battle over sellout record". Toronto Sun.http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Colorado/2006/10/18/2059541-sun.html. Retrieved2008-05-01.

18.^Maple Leaf Gardens page at Ballparks.com 19.^ ACC has a capacity of 18,800 and the game on October 31, 2002 drew 18,727 fans. [1] 20.

^ Westhead, Rick (2008-05-30). "Canadian NHL teams mean money". Toronto Star.

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/433906. Retrieved 2008-05-30.21.^"Sabres still searching for new owner". CBC Sports. 2002-11-17.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2002/11/17/thisweekinhockey021117.html. Retrieved 2008-05-01.22.^ O'Connor, Joe (2008-05-01). "Leafs Are 121St (Of 122) In Rewarding Fans". National post.

http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=483856. Retrieved 2008-05-01.[dead link] 23.^Thrashers party for Canadians 24.^"Toronto Maple Leafs - Team - Roster". Toronto Maple Leafs.

http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/roster.htm?type=roster. Retrieved 2010-12-06.25.^ Lashway, p. 15926.^ Lashway, p. 184

External linksy Toronto Maple Leafs official web site

toronto maple leafs - history

Documents