Toronto Maple Leafs National Historic Event
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player, ca. 1920
(© Photographer unknown | Photographe inconnu / Library and Archives Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Canada / PA-)
Address :
40 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2018-02-27
Dates:
-
1917 to 1967
(Significant)
Other Name(s):
-
Toronto Maple Leafs
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
2016-20
Importance:
The establishment of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team
Plaque(s)
The Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club traces its origins to one of the first teams to compete in the National Hockey League, formed in 1917. Known by 1918 as the Arenas, it became the St. Patrick’s Hockey Club, which co-owner and manager Conn Smythe renamed the Maple Leafs in 1927. During the Great Depression, he commissioned the building of Maple Leaf Gardens, where announcer Foster Hewitt continued play-by-play broadcasts, bringing the Leafs national attention. One of the most storied major-league sports clubs in North America, Toronto’s NHL team won 13 Stanley Cup championships between 1918 and 1967.