Maple Leafs NHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs NHL franchise are one of the "Original Six" -- that is, they were among the first half dozen teams of the National Hockey League. Ironically enough, Toronto hockey was the primary reason that the NHL came in to existence. You see, from 1909 until 1917, the Toronto Blueshirts were a part of the National Hockey Association. However, over time, other owners began to grow wary of Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingston. Livingston, it was believed, was somehow bending the rules to give his club a competitive advantage. Finally, in November 1917, the league's other owners met and decided to begin a new league, sans Livingston. Thus, the NHL and the Toronto Arenas were born. Oddly enough, under Livingston, the Blueshirts won only a single NHA championship, and in their very first year of existence, using mostly Livingston's former players, the Arenas claimed the inaugural NHL title.

Maple Leafs NHL: The Early Years

In 1919, the team was renamed the St. Patricks, and won their second Stanley Cup in 1922. However, in 1926, the St. Patricks would cease to be, as Conn Smythe purchased the Toronto franchise and renamed it the Maple Leafs. In 1932, the Maple Leaf Gardens opened and the trio of Busher Jackson, Charlie Conacher, and Joe Primeau combined to make the Maple Leafs NHL champions for the third time. From 1933 through 1940, they reached on six occasions but failed to bring home another Stanley Cup title until 1942. They would also go on to win a total of six championships in the 1940's and 1950's, proceeding to take home the title in 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1959 and 1960. Further, the Maple Leafs won five out of the first seven Stanley Cups awarded in the 1960's, including three straight from 1962 through 1964. They are currently still searching for title No. 14, but who knows? The very next team to take the ice wearing Toronto's blue and white jerseys might just be the one to get it.