The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The club is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a company that owns several professional sports teams in the city, while the team's broadcasting rights are split between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications.
The Hockey Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup. Founded in Kingston, Ontario, the Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1943 under the leadership of James T. Sutherland. The first class of honoured members was inducted in 1945, before the Hall of Fame had a permanent location. It moved to Toronto in 1958 after the NHL withdrew its support for the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, Ontario, due to funding issues. Its first permanent building opened at Exhibition Place in 1961. The hall was relocated in 1993, and is now in Downtown Toronto, inside Brookfield Place, and a historic Bank of Montreal building. The Hockey Hall of Fame has hosted International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) exhibits and the IIHF Hall of Fame since 1998.
Robert Gordon Orr is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position of defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons, the first 10 with the Boston Bruins, followed by two with the Chicago Black Hawks. Orr remains the only defenceman to have won the league scoring title with two Art Ross Trophies. He holds the record for most points and assists in a single season by a defenceman. Orr won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenceman and three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player (MVP). Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31, the youngest to be inducted at that time. In 2017, Orr was named by the National Hockey League as one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.
Francis William Mahovlich is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a former Liberal Senator in the Canadian Senate. He played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams and is an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Mahovlich was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Mahovlich was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. His brother Peter also played in the NHL. His nickname is "The Big M".
Harold Edwin Ballard was a Canadian businessman and sportsman. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) 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 1972 until his death. He won Stanley Cups in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967, all as part-owner. He was also the owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for 10 years from 1978 to 1988, winning a Grey Cup championship in 1986. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (1977) and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1987). His is one of seven names to be on both the Stanley Cup and Grey Cup.
John William Bower nicknamed "The China Wall", was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender and inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame, who won four Stanley Cups during his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2017 he was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history. His song "Honky Goose" reached #29 on the CHUM Charts in December 1965.
The National Hockey League Players' Association is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United States and Canada. The association represents its membership in all matters dealing with their working conditions and contractual rights as well as serving as their exclusive collective bargaining agent.
Darryl Glen Sittler is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 until 1985 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2016. In 2017 Sittler was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
David Michael Keon is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played professionally from 1960 to 1982, including 15 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986. Keon was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. On October 16, 2016, as part of the Toronto Maple Leafs centennial celebrations, Keon was named the greatest player in the team's history. In 2017, Keon was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in NHL history. In 2018, Keon was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Leonard Patrick "Red" Kelly was a Canadian professional hockey player and coach. He was also a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto-area riding of York West from 1962 to 1965, during which time he also won the Stanley Cup—twice—while actively playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kelly played on more Stanley Cup-winning teams (eight) than any other player who never played for the Montreal Canadiens; Henri Richard (11), Jean Beliveau (10), Yvan Cournoyer (10) and Claude Provost (9) won their Cups with the Canadiens. He was also one of the only two players to have never played for the Canadiens and to be part of two of the nine dynasties recognized by the National Hockey League (NHL) in its history. In 2017, Kelly was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
George "Punch" Imlach was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame (2004).
Robert Neil Baun was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for 17 seasons from 1956 to 1973. His nickname was "Boomer".
The 1976 Canada Cup was an international ice hockey tournament held September 2 to 15, 1976, in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City in Canada as well as in Philadelphia, in the United States. It was the first of five Canada Cup tournaments held between 1976 and 1991, organized by Alan Eagleson, and sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League (NHL).
Ronald John Edward Ellis was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Ellis played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ellis won the Stanley Cup in 1967, and took part in the famed 1972 Summit Series against the Russian National team. After retiring, Ellis went into business and later joined the staff of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
James Michael Gregory was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and executive. Born in Port Colborne, Ontario and raised in Dunnville, Ontario, Gregory attended St. Michael's College School in Toronto where he became involved with the school's ice hockey teams, first as a trainer, eventually moving to management and coaching positions. He went on to coach and manage the Toronto Marlboros, winning two championships. He then moved to the National Hockey League's (NHL) Toronto Maple Leafs, serving as their general manager between 1969 and 1979. He led the team to eight playoff appearances during his ten-year tenure. He then moved to the NHL head offices, becoming the director of central scouting, and later took a directorship position in the hockey operations department, which he held until his death.
Ritch Winter is an ice hockey sports agent. Founder and former CEO of The Sports Corporation, based in Edmonton, Winter currently owns Raze Sports representing around 40 National Hockey League players, including Marian Hossa, Mark Giordano, and Tomas Tatar.
The 1979–80 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the 63rd season of the franchise, 53rd season as the Maple Leafs. In July 1979, Leafs owner Harold Ballard brought back Punch Imlach, a longtime friend, as general manager. Imlach traded Lanny McDonald to undermine team captain Darryl Sittler's influence on the team. The McDonald trade sent the Leafs into a downward spiral. They finished five games under .500 and only made the playoffs due to the presence of the Quebec Nordiques, a refugee from the WHA, in the Adams Division.
Michael Robert Walton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Walton played forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1965 until 1979.
Orr: My Story is a 2013 autobiography written by former professional hockey player Bobby Orr, who played for the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League from 1966 to 1978. Orr had multiple knee surgeries and injuries that ended his career. Orr was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31, the youngest to be inducted into the Hall at that time. Orr is also recognized for being one of the first major sports figures to use an agent. Unfortunately, at the end of his career Orr discovered that his agent, Alan Eagleson, had embezzled most of his money, leaving him deeply in debt.
Russell G. Conway was an American journalist, writer, and auto racing promoter. He worked in investigative journalism with The Eagle-Tribune, and wrote a series of articles and a book about Alan Eagleson and the mismanagement of funds, and National Hockey League players' pensions. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, and honored with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1999. He owned and operated several motorsport venues, and was inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame.
