Preserving the history.
Celebrating the legacy.

Timeline by Era

1. 1917–1919

   The Arenas era

   Toronto joins the NHL in its first season, run by the Toronto Arena Company and playing at Arena Gardens on Mutual Street. They win the Stanley Cup in 1918 over the Vancouver Millionaires.

2. 1919–1927

   The St. Patricks

   New owners rename the club the St. Patricks, and they win the 1922 Cup, again against Vancouver.

3. 1927–1931

   Smythe’s Maple Leafs

   Conn Smythe’s group buys the team (the sale closed February 14, 1927) and renames it the Maple Leafs. In 1930 Smythe lands King Clancy from Ottawa for $35,000 and two players.

4. 1931–1940

   The Gardens rise

   Maple Leaf Gardens is built in about five months and opens November 12, 1931. That season the Leafs sweep the Rangers for the 1932 Cup.

5. 1940s–1951

   The first dynasty

   Hap Day coaches five Cups (1942, ’45, ’47, ’48, ’49), the first after falling behind Detroit three games to none in the final. Bill Barilko’s overtime goal wins the 1951 Cup.

6. 1958–1967

   Imlach’s Leafs

   Punch Imlach’s teams, captained by George Armstrong, win four Cups in six years, ending with the 1967 upset of Montreal. Dave Keon wins the Conn Smythe Trophy.

7. 1967–1999

   Gardens memories

   On February 7, 1976, Darryl Sittler sets an NHL record with 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) against Boston. The Leafs play their last games at the Gardens in February 1999.

8. 1999–today

   A new home

   The Air Canada Centre is dedicated February 19, 1999, and the Leafs beat Montreal 3–2 in overtime the next night. The building becomes Scotiabank Arena in July 2018.

Banners in the Rafters

Above the ice at Scotiabank Arena hang the franchise’s Stanley Cups and the numbers no Leaf will wear again: 13 numbers for 19 players. For years the Leafs kept two lists. Only numbers tied to tragedy were “retired”; the greats had their numbers “honoured” and still in use. At the centennial home opener on October 15, 2016, the club changed course and retired every honoured number, plus Dave Keon’s No. 14.

No. 6 · the first retired number

Ace Bailey

On December 12, 1933, at Boston Garden, Bruins star Eddie Shore hit Ace Bailey from behind. Bailey struck his head on the ice and fractured his skull. Doctors feared for his life, and although he recovered, he never played again.

On February 14, 1934, the Leafs hosted a team of the NHL’s best players at Maple Leaf Gardens to raise money for Bailey and his family. It is widely called the NHL’s first all-star game. Before the puck dropped, Bailey reached out and shook Shore’s hand, and the crowd of more than 14,000 roared. Conn Smythe then announced that no Leaf would wear No. 6 again, the first retired number in NHL history. The Leafs won 7–3, and the game raised about $21,000 for the Baileys (most records put it at $20,909).

In 1968, Bailey asked that Ron Ellis be allowed to wear No. 6, and he handed it to Ellis himself. When Ellis retired in 1981, the number went back into retirement.

The retired numbers

• 1

  Turk Broda & Johnny Bower

  Goalies with nine Stanley Cups between them. Honoured 1995, retired 2016.

• 4

  Hap Day & Red Kelly

  Day captained the 1932 champions and coached five Cup winners; Kelly won four Cups as a Leaf. Honoured 2006, retired 2016.

• 5

  Bill Barilko

  Scored the 1951 Cup-winning goal in overtime, then died in a plane crash that summer. The wreckage was not found until 1962. Retired October 17, 1992.

• 6

  Ace Bailey

  Retired February 14, 1934, the first in NHL history.

• 7

  King Clancy & Tim Horton

  Clancy starred on the 1932 champions; Horton won four Cups in the 1960s. Honoured 1995, retired 2016.

• 9

  Charlie Conacher & Ted Kennedy

  Kennedy idolized Conacher as a boy, and Conacher later presented him with the No. 9 sweater. Kennedy won five Cups. Honoured 1998 and 1993, retired 2016.

• 10

  Syl Apps & George Armstrong

  Captains of seven Cup winners between them. Honoured 1993 and 1998, retired 2016.

• 13

  Mats Sundin

  The Leafs’ career points leader with 987. Honoured 2012, retired 2016.

• 14

  Dave Keon

  1967 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, named the greatest Leaf of all time in 2016. Retired October 15, 2016.

• 17

  Wendel Clark

  First overall pick in 1985 and captain from 1991 to 1994. Honoured 2008, retired 2016.

• 21

  Börje Salming

  The Swedish defenceman played 16 seasons in Toronto. Honoured 2006, retired 2016.

• 27

  Frank Mahovlich & Darryl Sittler

  Mahovlich won four Cups; Sittler scored 10 points in one game. Honoured 2001 and 2003, retired 2016.

• 93

  Doug Gilmour

  Set franchise records with 95 assists and 127 points in 1992–93. Honoured 2009, retired 2016.

Stanley Cup banners

Thirteen championships: 1918 (Arenas), 1922 (St. Patricks), and 1932, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967 as the Maple Leafs.

Wearing the “C”

Twenty-six players have captained the franchise since 1917. Thirteen are in the Hockey Hall of Fame (marked ★). Auston Matthews is the 26th, named on August 14, 2024, and wears the “C” in 2026–27.

1. 1917–1919Ken Randall Arenas
2. 1919–1920Frank Heffernan St. Pats
3. 1920–1922Reg Noble ★ St. Pats
4. 1922–1924Jack Adams ★ St. Pats
5. 1924–1925John Ross Roach St. Pats · the only goalie captain
6. 1925–1926Babe Dye ★ St. Pats
7. 1926–1927Bert Corbeau St. Pats to Maple Leafs
8. 1927–1937Hap Day ★
9. 1937–1938Charlie Conacher ★
10. 1938–1940Red Horner ★
11. 1940–1943Syl Apps ★
12. 1943–1945Bob Davidson while Apps served in the army
13. 1945–1948Syl Apps ★
14. 1948–1955Ted Kennedy ★
15. 1955–1956Sid Smith
16. 1956–1957Jimmy Thomson
17. 1957Ted Kennedy ★ second stint
18. 1957–1969George Armstrong ★ longest-serving
19. 1969–1975Dave Keon ★
20. 1975–1981Darryl Sittler ★
21. 1981–1986Rick Vaive
22. 1986–1989No captain
23. 1989–1991Rob Ramage
24. 1991–1994Wendel Clark
25. 1994–1997Doug Gilmour ★
26. 1997–2008Mats Sundin ★ first captain from outside Canada
27. 2008–2010No captain
28. 2010–2016Dion Phaneuf
29. 2016–2019No captain
30. 2019–2024John Tavares
31. 2024–todayAuston Matthews current captain

Seasons follow the NHL’s official records. Sittler gave up the captaincy from December 1979 to September 1980 during a dispute with management.

The Puck Stops Here

From the Gardens’ first season to the Scotiabank Arena era, these are the netminders who carried the blue and white. Cups and Vezina Trophies are for their whole careers, with the team noted where it wasn’t Toronto.

Who Owned the Leafs

From an arena company to a telecom giant, here is how the club has changed hands since the NHL’s first season.

1. 1917–1919

   The Toronto Arena Company

   The company that owned Arena Gardens on Mutual Street ran Toronto’s club in the new NHL, with Charlie Querrie as manager. As the Arenas, the team won the 1918 Stanley Cup.

2. 1919–1927

   The St. Patricks group

   The NHL approved the sale of the franchise to a group fronted by Querrie in December 1919. The new club, the St. Patricks, was owned mainly by Querrie, Fred and Percy Hambly, and Paul Ciceri. Jack Bickell invested in 1924.

3. 1927

   Conn Smythe’s group

   Smythe put together investors to buy the club, with Bickell keeping his share. The sale closed on February 14, 1927, and the team became the Maple Leafs.

4. 1931

   Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd.

   Smythe formed a public company to own both the team and the new Maple Leaf Gardens, selling shares to fund construction. Bickell was its first president.

5. 1947

   Smythe takes control

   After a boardroom struggle, Smythe gained majority ownership and became president on November 19, 1947.

6. 1961

   Stafford Smythe, Harold Ballard and John Bassett

   Conn Smythe sold most of his shares to a partnership of his son Stafford, Harold Ballard and John Bassett, giving them control of 60% of the company. He sold the rest in 1966.

7. 1971–1990

   The Ballard era

   Bassett sold out to Stafford Smythe and Ballard in 1971. After Stafford died that October, Ballard bought his shares in February 1972, taking about 70% of the company. He controlled it until his death on April 11, 1990.

8. 1990–1994

   The Ballard estate

   The estate’s executors, including Steve Stavro, ran the company while Molson held a 19.9% stake.

9. 1994–2003

   Steve Stavro and Ontario Teachers’

   Stavro’s MLG Ventures, backed by TD Bank and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, bought the estate’s and Molson’s shares. Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports bought into Stavro’s holding company in 1996. In 1998 the company bought the Raptors and their new arena, took the name Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, and went private.

10. 2003–2012

    Teachers’ in charge

    Stavro sold out in 2003, leaving Ontario Teachers’ as majority owner with Bell Globemedia, TD Capital and Tanenbaum as partners. By 2011 Teachers’ held 79.5% and Tanenbaum 20.5%.

11. 2012–2025

    Rogers, Bell and Tanenbaum

    Rogers and Bell bought out Teachers’ in a deal that closed August 22, 2012: Rogers 37.5%, Bell 37.5%, Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports 25%.

12. 2025

    Rogers becomes majority owner

    Rogers bought Bell’s 37.5% for C$4.7 billion, closing July 1, 2025, to own 75%.

13. 2026–today

    Rogers Communications, sole owner

    Rogers bought Kilmer’s remaining 25% for C$4.35 billion, closing October 1, 2026, and now owns 100% of MLSE and the Maple Leafs. Rogers has said it plans to sell a minority stake in its combined sports business by mid-2027; no buyer had been announced as of November 2026.

Three Famous Homes

Legends