Toronto Maple Leafs | |
---|---|
2024–25 Toronto Maple Leafs season | |
Conference | Eastern |
Division | Atlantic |
Founded | 1917 |
History | Toronto Arenas 1917–1919 Toronto St. Patricks 1919–1927 Toronto Maple Leafs 1927–present |
Home arena | Scotiabank Arena |
City | Toronto, Ontario |
Team colours | Blue, white[1][2] |
Media | Sportsnet Ontario TSN4 Sportsnet 590 The Fan TSN Radio 1050 |
Owner(s) | Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (Larry Tanenbaum, chairman) |
General manager | Brad Treliving |
Head coach | Craig Berube |
Captain | Auston Matthews |
Minor league affiliates | Toronto Marlies (AHL) Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) |
Stanley Cups | 13 (1917–18, 1921–22, 1931–32, 1941–42, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1966–67) |
Conference championships | 0 |
Presidents' Trophy | 0[note 1] |
Division championships | 6 (1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1999–2000, 2020–21) |
Official website | www |
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The club is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a company that owns several professional sports teams in the city, while the team's broadcasting rights are split between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications.
The club was founded as the Toronto Arenas for the inaugural 1917-18 NHL season, and rebranded to the Toronto St. Patricks after two years. Conn Smythe renamed the franchise to the Maple Leafs after buying it in 1927. The team played home games at the Mutual Street Arena for its first 14 seasons before moving to Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931. Since February 1999, the Maple Leafs play at Scotiabank Arena (formerly known as Air Canada Centre).
Toronto has won more Stanley Cup championships and played more NHL seasons than any team other than the Montreal Canadiens. The club had two recognized dynasties[broken anchor] which spanned 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.[3][4] These successes were followed by an extended championship drought, which at 57 seasons[note 2] 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. The team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate is the Toronto Marlies.
Several individuals who hold an association with the club have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Nineteen players have had their numbers retired by the Maple Leafs, including the first in professional sports.
Conn Smythe bought the Toronto St. Pats in 1927 after the franchise almost had been sold to a group in Philadelphia. He immediately changed the name of the team to the Maple Leafs to honor Canada's soldiers who wore the Maple Leaf while fighting during World War I. "We chose it ... hoping that the possession of this badge would mean something to the team that wore it and when they skated out on the ice with this badge on their chest ... they would wear it with honor and pride and courage, the way it had been worn by the soldiers of the first Great War in the Canadian Army," said Smythe, who also changed the team's colors from green and white to blue and white.
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