Maple Leafs–Canadiens rivalry

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
Next Meeting	January 21, 2012
Location	Air Canada Centre
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 1918, TOR 10-7 1947, TOR 4-2 1951, TOR 4-1 1959, MTL 4-1 1960, MTL 4-0 1967, TOR 4-2

Roch Carrier as a young boy (wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater) and presumably the inspiration of The Hockey Sweater

Created by Charles Pachter, Hockey Knights in Canada is a piece consisting of two murals installed in 1984 in College Station of the Toronto Subway, the nearest station to Maple Leaf Gardens (then the home venue). One mural features Leafs players, while the other shows the Canadiens and stands in literal opposition on the northbound platform across the tracks.

The rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens is the oldest rivalry in the history of the National Hockey League. From 1944 to 1978, the two teams met each other in the playoffs 15 times, and faced off in five Stanley Cup Finals. While the on-ice competition is fierce, the Leafs-Habs rivalry is symbolic of the rivalry between Canada's two largest cities: Toronto and Montreal. 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 British defeat of Quebec at the Plains of Abraham 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 ethnic stock and Protestant, and possessed conservative and imperialist loyalties. The French Canadians, meanwhile, were not only of French descent, but were also Roman Catholic in religion, politically liberal, and continentalist in economic thought.

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. This held particular significance for longtime Leafs owner Conn Smythe, 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, and God Save the Queen was sung as an anthem before the game (the former practice was famously discontinued by the team's owner at the time, Harold Ballard, 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," at the Montreal Forum.

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 wanted to get rid of Toronto Blueshirts 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 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 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. The Arenas became the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919 and the Maple Leafs in 1927.

The rivalry became especially heated after the Montreal Maroons 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 1961, which was won by the Chicago Black Hawks (their last championship until 2010).^[1] The rivalry perhaps reached its zenith in the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals during the centennial year of Canadian Confederation.^[2] The city of Montreal was hosting Expo 67 that year, and the Canadiens were expected to beat the Leafs quite handily.^[2][3] Still, underdog Toronto upset the Habs to capture their most recent Cup.^[2]

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 Vancouver (the Canucks), Calgary (the Flames), Edmonton (the Oilers) and Winnipeg (the Jets) captured the allegiances of Canadians in Western Canada, while the Quebec Nordiques competed with the Canadiens for the loyalties of Quebecers from 1979 to 1995.

1980s and 1990s

From 1981 to 1998, 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 1993, where they would have faced the Wales Conference champion Habs in the 100th anniversary year of the Stanley Cup.^[4] However, they were narrowly defeated in the Campbell Conference Finals by the Los Angeles Kings.^[5] This rivalry is featured in the children's book The Hockey Sweater, in which the protagonist, a Canadiens fan and presumably author Roch Carrier as a child, is forced to wear a Leafs sweater. The rivalry is also featured in the murals of Toronto's College subway station, in a work by Charles Pachter 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 resigned as the Canadiens head coach and was hired as the Maple Leafs head coach that same day, adding more fuel to the fire.^[6] Burns coached the Canadiens to the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Calgary Flames in six games.^[7] However, he would win the Stanley Cup as coach of the New Jersey Devils in 2003.^[7]

In 1998, the Leafs moved into the Eastern Conference's Northeast Division.^[8] This has served to rekindle the rivalry, although the two teams have yet to appear in a playoff series against each other.^[8] For the Maple Leafs, this realignment also made the Ottawa Senators, their in-province rivals, division rivals.^[8]

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

* Stanley Cup Finals were between the NHL and PCHA champions prior to 1927. ** Total goals series.

See also

• National Hockey League rivalries

References

Inline citations

1. ^ Cole, p. 52
2. ^ ^{a b c} Cole, p. 71
3. ^ Cole, p. 68
4. ^ Cole, p. 127
5. ^ Dillman, Lisa (May 30, 1993). "Game 7 Victory Is a Great One Hockey". Los Angeles Times: p. 1. 
6. ^ Cox, Damien (May 30, 1992). "Habs' Burns to coach Leafs". Toronto Star: p. A1. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Frei, Terry (June 10, 2003). "Devils in heaven Brodeur's shutout nets NHL title". Denver Post: p. D01. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Shoalts, David (December 3, 1997). "Leafs get wish to play Habs more". The Globe and Mail: p. S1. 

Bibliography

• Cole, Stephen (2004). The Best of Hockey Night in Canada. Toronto: McArthur & Company. ISBN 1-55278-408-8. 
• Morrison, Scott (2008). Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day. Toronto: Key Porter Books. ISBN 978-1-55470-086-8.