Maple Leafs–Canadiens rivalry
Encyclopedia
| Toronto Maple Leafs–Montreal Canadiens | |
|---|---|
| History | |
| 1st Meeting | December 26, 1917 |
| 1st Result | TOR 7-5 |
| Location | Arena Gardens |
| Last Meeting | October 22, 2011 |
| Last Result | TOR 5-4 |
| Location | Bell Centre Bell Centre The Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction... |
| Next Meeting | January 21, 2012 |
| Location | Air Canada Centre Air Canada Centre The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The arena is popularly known as the ACC or the Hangar .... |
| Number of Meetings | 778 |
| All-Time Series | MTL, 375-308-88 (.539) |
| Regular Season Meetings | 707 |
| Regular Season Series | MTL, 333-279-88 (.533) |
| Current Streak | TOR, 1 |
| Current Trend | TOR leading season series 3-2 |
| Post Season History | |
| Post Season Series | 15, MTL 8-7 (.533) |
| Post Season Games | 71, MTL 42-29 (.592) |
| Stanley Cup Series , TOR 10-7 , TOR 4-2 , TOR 4-1 , MTL 4-1 , MTL 4-0 , TOR 4-2 |
|
Toronto Maple Leafs
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 National Hockey League...
and Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
is the oldest rivalry in the history of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. From 1944 to 1978, the two teams met each other in the playoffs 15 times, and faced off in five Stanley Cup Finals
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the professional club championship of ice hockey. Although the Cup itself has existed since 1893, an annual championship series between professional teams was not established until 1913...
. While the on-ice competition is fierce, the Leafs-Habs rivalry is symbolic of the rivalry between Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's two largest cities: Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Both teams have fans across Canada (and beyond); allegiances are no longer as strongly determined by language spoken as in their early histories.
History
From the time of the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
defeat of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
at the Plains of Abraham
Plains of Abraham
The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, that was originally grazing land, but became famous as the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759. Though written into the history books, housing and minor...
in 1759, the chief tension in what eventually became Canada has been between English- and French-speaking Canadians. The English Canadians were for the most part of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ethnic stock and Protestant, and were associated with the British Crown. By contrast, the French Canadians (also known as Quebeçois), were not only of French descent, but were also heavily Roman Catholic in religion and as a group did not possess strong allegiances with the British Crown.
When the NHL was created in 1917, these differences continued to play themselves out in the rivalry between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. The Maple Leafs' fanbase consisted mainly of English-speaking Canadians of British descent; in fact, the team's logo from 1927 onward was in essence a stylized version of the Canadian Army's Cap Badge Insignia during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. This held particular significance for longtime Leafs owner Conn Smythe
Conn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens...
, who had served as an artillery officer during the Great War. As late as the 1970s, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, was hung in the Leafs' home arena, Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
, and God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
was sung as an anthem before the game (the former practice was famously discontinued by the team's owner at the time, Harold Ballard
Harold Ballard
Harold E. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League as well as their home arena, Maple Leaf Gardens. A member of the Leafs organization from 1940 and a senior executive from 1957, he became part-owner of the team in 1961 and was majority owner from February...
, who asked, "The Queen doesn't pay anything to get in, does she?"). The Canadiens, meanwhile, captured the imaginations of French-speaking fans, mainly concentrated in the province of Quebec (and to a slightly lesser degree, English-speaking Catholic and Jewish fans in Montreal, as well as English-speaking Catholic fans in eastern Ontario and the Maritimes). In stark contrast to the anthem practice in Toronto, the Habs pioneered the use of the current Canadian national anthem, "O Canada
O Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
," at the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996...
.
Ironically, the Canadiens were responsible for the Maple Leafs getting into the league. The NHL had been formed when four of the five teams in the National Hockey Association
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
wanted to get rid of Toronto Blueshirts
Toronto Blueshirts
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
owner Eddie Livingstone, but discovered they couldn't simply vote him out. As a solution, they created a new league, the NHL, and didn't invite Livingstone to join them, effectively leaving him in a one-team league. However, Canadiens owner George Kennedy
George Kennedy (sports promoter)
George Washington Kendall , known professionally as George Kennedy, was a Canadian sports promoter best known as the owner of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team from 1910 to 1921. Kennedy was a wrestler himself and after the end of his wrestling career turned to wrestling promotion...
felt it would be unthinkable not to have a team from Toronto in the new league. It also needed a fourth team to balance the schedule after the Quebec Bulldogs
Quebec Bulldogs
The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880...
suspended operations due to financial problems (and as it turned out, didn't take the ice until 1919). At his suggestion, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Toronto Arena Company. This franchise was upgraded to a permanent one for the next season, known as the Toronto Arenas
Toronto Arenas
The Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...
. The Arenas became the Toronto St. Patricks
Toronto St. Patricks
The Toronto St. Patricks professional men's ice hockey team started as an amateur ice hockey organization. In 1919, the club purchased the Toronto National Hockey League franchise from the NHL. The club renamed the franchise the Toronto St. Patricks club and operated the franchise until 1927, when...
in 1919 and the Maple Leafs in 1927.
The rivalry became especially heated after the Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
suspended operations (and as it turned out, never returned) in 1938. For the next 32 years, the Habs and Leafs were the only Canadian teams in the league.
1940s to 1960s
While certainly heated during the 1940s and 1950s, the Leafs–rivalry was particularly acute during the 1960s; the two teams reigned exclusively as Stanley Cup champions during the decade, with the exception of , which was won by the Chicago Black HawksChicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
(their last championship until ). The rivalry perhaps reached its zenith in the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals
1967 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1967 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs would win the series four games to two to win their thirteenth Stanley Cup...
during the centennial year of Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
. The city of Montreal was hosting Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
that year, and the Canadiens were expected to beat the Leafs quite handily. Still, underdog Toronto upset the Habs to capture their most recent Cup.
Post-expansion era
After 1967, the rivalry cooled slightly due to NHL expansion and realignment. The fanbases of both teams began to erode somewhat: new franchises in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
(the Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
), Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
(the Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
), Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
(the Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
) and Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
(the Jets) captured the allegiances of Canadians in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
, while the Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
competed with the Canadiens for the loyalties of Quebecers from 1979 to 1995.
1980s and 1990s
From to , Toronto and Montreal were in opposite conferences–the Maple Leafs in the Clarence Campbell/Western Conference and the Canadiens in the Prince of Wales/Eastern Conference. The fortunes of the two teams since 1967 have also seen a marked difference; the Habs have won ten Stanley Cup championships since that year, while the Maple Leafs still have yet to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Toronto came close to reaching the Finals in , where they would have faced the Wales Conference champion Habs in the 100th anniversary year of the Stanley Cup. However, they were narrowly defeated in the Campbell Conference Finals by the Los Angeles KingsLos Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
. This rivalry is featured in the children's book The Hockey Sweater
The Hockey Sweater
"The Hockey Sweater" is a short story published in 1979 by Canadian author Roch Carrier....
, in which the protagonist, a Canadiens fan and presumably author Roch Carrier
Roch Carrier
Roch Carrier, OC is a Canadian novelist and author of "contes" . He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada....
as a child, is forced to wear a Leafs sweater. The rivalry is also featured in the murals of Toronto's College subway station
College (TTC)
College is a subway station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada subway that opened in 1954. It is located at 448 Yonge Street at College Street/Carlton Street.-Entrances:...
, in a work by Charles Pachter
Charles Pachter
-Life:Pachter got a D-minus in visual art at Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute. However, that did not prevent him from pursuing a career in visual arts.Pachter is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, designer, historian, and lecturer...
called Hockey Knights in Canada, in which the Leafs are depicted on the southbound side mural and the Canadiens are depicted on the northbound side mural. The two murals are installed appropriately in opposition, with one facing the other across the subway tracks.
On May 29, 1992, Pat Burns
Pat Burns
Patrick Burns was a National Hockey League head coach. Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he coached in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils...
resigned as the Canadiens head coach and was hired as the Maple Leafs head coach that same day, adding more fuel to the fire. Burns coached the Canadiens to the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals
1989 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1989 Stanley Cup Final was between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. , this is the most recent time that the first two seeds met in the Stanley Cup Final, as the New Jersey Devils had one win less than the Detroit Red Wings...
, but lost to the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
in six games. However, he would win the Stanley Cup as coach of the New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in .
In , the Leafs moved into the Eastern Conference's Northeast Division
Northeast Division (NHL)
The NHL's Northeast Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Eastern Conference in a league realignment, the predecessor of which was the Adams Division...
. This has served to rekindle the rivalry, although the two teams have yet to appear in a playoff series against each other. For the Maple Leafs, this realignment put them in the same division as not only the Canadiens, but also the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, their in-province rival
Battle of Ontario
The Battle of Ontario is a rivalry between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, often described as one of the top NHL rivalries. The teams both compete in the Northeast Division and with current NHL scheduling meet 6 times per season...
s.
Playoff battles
The Canadiens and Maple Leafs have met in the playoffs 15 times. To date, Montreal has won 8, Toronto 7. Scores of games won by the series winning team are in bold.| Season | Round | Result | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917–18 | NHL Final* | Toronto 10-7** | 3-7 | 3-4 | |||||
| 1924–25 | NHL Semifinal* | Montreal 5-2** | 3-2 | 2-0 | |||||
| 1943–44 | Semifinal | Montreal 4-1 | 3-1 | 1-5 | 2-1 | 4-1 | 0-11 | ||
| 1944–45 | Semifinal | Toronto 4-2 | 1-0 | 3-2 | 4-1 | 3-4 | 3-10 | 2-3 | |
| 1946–47 | Final | Toronto 4-2 | 0-6 | 4-0 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-2 | |
| 1950–51 | Final | Toronto 4-1 | 2-3 | 3-2 | 2-1 | 3-2 | 2-3 | ||
| 1958–59 | Final | Montreal 4-1 | 3-5 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 3-2 | 3-5 | ||
| 1959–60 | Final | Montreal 4-0 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 5-2 | 4-0 | |||
| 1962–63 | Semifinal | Toronto 4-1 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 2-0 | 1-3 | 0-5 | ||
| 1963–64 | Semifinal | Toronto 4-3 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 3-2 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 0-3 | 3-1 |
| 1964–65 | Semifinal | Montreal 4-2 | 2-3 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 4-3 | |
| 1965–66 | Semifinal | Montreal 4-0 | 3-4 | 0-2 | 5-2 | 4-1 | |||
| 1966–67 | Final | Toronto 4-2 | 2-6 | 3-0 | 2-3 | 6-2 | 4-1 | 1-3 | |
| 1977–78 | Semifinal | Montreal 4-0 | 3-5 | 2-3 | 6-1 | 2-0 | |||
| 1978–79 | Quarterfinal | Montreal 4-0 | 2-5 | 1-5 | 4-3 | 5-4 |
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
champions prior to 1927.