The Toronto Hockey Club, also known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, were a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912. The club won its sole Stanley Cup championship in 1914. The Toronto Hockey Club, which was also known as the Blue Shirts, competed in the NHA from the 1912–13 season to midway through the 1916–17 season when the team suspended operations. [1] In the following offseason, the NHA suspended operations, never to return. Four NHA clubs formed the National Hockey League and granted a temporary franchise to an unnamed Toronto 'hockey club' as a replacement for the NHA team in Toronto. [1] However, the roster was composed mostly of former Blue Shirts, leading the press to call this team "the Torontos" or "the Blue Shirts." This temporary franchise would evolve into today's Toronto Maple Leafs. [2]
Color/symbol | Explanation |
---|---|
# | Led league in points |
‡ | O'Brien Cup champions |
† | Stanley Cup champions |
Term or abbreviation | Definition |
---|---|
Finish | Final position in league standings |
GA | Goals against (goals scored by the Torontos' opponents) |
GF | Goals for (goals scored by the Torontos) |
GP | Number of games played |
L | Number of losses |
Pts | Number of points |
T | Number of ties |
TG | Two-game total goals series |
W | Number of wins |
— | Does not apply |
NHA season | Team season | Regular season | Post season | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Result | ||
1912–13 | 1912–13 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 18 | 86 | 95 | 3rd | — | — | — | — | — | — | Did not qualify |
1913–14 | 1913–14 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 26# | 93 | 65 | 1st‡ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 10 | Won NHA Finals [a] vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6–2 (TG) Won 1914 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Victoria Aristocrats, 3–0† |
1914–15 | 1914–15 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 66 | 84 | 4th | — | — | — | — | — | — | Did not qualify |
1915–16 | 1915–16 | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 97 | 98 | 5th | — | — | — | — | — | — | Did not qualify |
1916–17 | 1916–17 [b] | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 50 | 45 | 4th | — | — | — | — | — | — | Did not qualify |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 16 | — | |||||||||
Totals | 98 | 46 | 51 | 1 | 93 | 406 | 403 | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 10 | — |
The Toronto Arenas or Torontos were a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company. As the ownership of the National Hockey Association (NHA) Toronto Blueshirts franchise was in dispute, the new NHL league was started, and a temporary Toronto franchise was operated. The NHL itself was intended to only be a one-year entity until the NHA could be reactivated, although it never was.
The Toronto St. Patricks were a professional ice hockey team which began playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1919. The Toronto NHL franchise had previously been held by the Arena Company, but despite winning the Stanley Cup the team was bankrupt and pulled out of the league after just two seasons. The rights to the Toronto franchise were purchased by a group of investors with links to an amateur club called the "St. Patricks". The new owners renamed the NHL franchise after the amateur club, and as the St. Patricks the team won the Stanley Cup in 1922. J.P. Bickell invested in the St. Patricks in 1924 as a favour to Charlie Querrie. In 1927, Charlie Querrie and other investors wanted out, J.P. Bickell made arrangements for other Toronto investors and initially hired Mike Rodden to run the hockey operations, which did not work out. He then hired Conn Smythe as the Managing Partner. The team was renamed to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1926–27 NHL season.
The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, and later as the Quebec Athletic Club. One of the first organized ice hockey clubs, the club debuted in 1878 with the opening of the Quebec Skating Rink. The club continued as an amateur team through various leagues, eventually becoming professional in 1908. The club would play in the National Hockey Association and the National Hockey League. In 1920, the team moved to Hamilton, Ontario and became the Hamilton Tigers.
The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL), and much of the business processes of the NHL today are based on the NHA. Founded in 1909 by Ambrose O'Brien, the NHA introduced 'six-man hockey' by removing the 'rover' position in 1911. During its lifetime, the league coped with competition for players with the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the enlistment of players for World War I and disagreements between owners. The disagreements between owners came to a head in 1917, when the NHA suspended operations in order to get rid of an unwanted owner, Eddie Livingstone.
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912. The club won its sole Stanley Cup championship in 1914.
Edward James Livingstone was a Canadian sports team owner and manager. He was the principal owner of the Toronto Shamrocks and the Toronto Blueshirts professional ice hockey clubs of the National Hockey Association (NHA), where his battles with his fellow owners led them to create the National Hockey League.
Mutual Street Arena, initially called Arena Gardens or just the Arena, was an ice hockey arena and sports and entertainment venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1912 until 1931, with the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens, it was the premier site of ice hockey in Toronto, being home to teams from the National Hockey Association (NHA), the National Hockey League (NHL), the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the International Hockey League (IHL). It was the first home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played at the arena under various names for their first 13½ seasons. The Arena Gardens was the third rink in Canada to feature a mechanically frozen or 'artificial' ice surface, and for eleven years was the only such facility in eastern Canada. In 1923, it was the site of the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game, the first radio broadcast of an NHL game, and the first broadcast of an ice hockey game by long-time broadcaster Foster Hewitt.
Harold Hugh Cameron was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played professionally for the Toronto Blueshirts, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Toronto St. Pats, and Montreal Canadiens. Cameron won three Stanley Cups in his career: his first as a member of the 1913–14 Toronto Blueshirts, his second as a member of the 1917–18 Blueshirts (Arenas), and his third as a member of the 1921–22 Toronto St. Pats.
The history of the National Hockey League begins with the end of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA), in 1917. After unsuccessfully attempting to resolve disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, executives of the three other NHA franchises suspended the NHA, and formed the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Livingstone team with a temporary team in Toronto, the Arenas. The NHL's first quarter-century saw the league compete against two rival major leagues—the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and Western Canada Hockey League—for players and the Stanley Cup. The NHL first expanded into the United States in 1924 with the founding of the Boston Bruins, and by 1926 consisted of ten teams in Ontario, Quebec, the Great Lakes region, and the Northeastern United States. At the same time, the NHL emerged as the only major league and the sole competitor for the Stanley Cup; in 1947, the NHL completed a deal with the Stanley Cup trustees to gain full control of the Cup. The NHL's footprint spread across Canada as Foster Hewitt's radio broadcasts were heard coast-to-coast starting in 1933.
The 1918 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires. In a series held entirely in Toronto, the Toronto team won the series by three games to two in the best-of-five game series to win the Stanley Cup. It was the first series contested by the new NHL and subsequently the first Stanley Cup win by the Toronto NHL franchise team.
The history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL), begins with the establishment of the NHL itself. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL arose from disputes between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the National Hockey Association's Toronto Blueshirts, and the other team owners of the Association. In November 1917, these other team owners founded the NHL, and granted Toronto a temporary franchise in their new league. Playing at Arena Gardens, this temporary team, the Toronto Arenas, won the 1918 Stanley Cup Finals following the inaugural 1917–18 NHL season. The NHL made the franchise permanent in October 1918.
The 1917–18 Toronto Hockey Club season was the first season of the new Toronto franchise in the newly-organized National Hockey League (NHL). The team was intended as a 'temporary' franchise, operating without an official club nickname and without a formal organization separate from the Toronto Arena Company that managed the Arena Gardens. Despite this, the team came together to win the first NHL Championship, competing against existing teams that had transferred directly from the National Hockey Association (NHA). Toronto would go on to win the Stanley Cup by defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champion Vancouver Millionaires – the first Stanley Cup for an NHL team and the second Cup for a Toronto team after the Toronto Blueshirts' victory in the 1913–14 season of the NHA. To this day, the Toronto Arenas are the only team in the four major North American sports to win the title in their first season as a franchise.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917 following the demise of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). In an effort to remove Eddie Livingstone as owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, a majority of the NHA franchises suspended the NHA and formed the new NHL. The Quebec Bulldogs, while a member, did not operate in the NHL for the first two years. Instead the owners of the Toronto Arena Gardens operated a new Toronto franchise. While the NHL was intended as a temporary measure, the continuing dispute with Livingstone led to the four NHA owners meeting and making the suspension of the NHA permanent one year later.
John Purcell Quinn was a Canadian athlete, businessman, sports executive and politician. He was an owner and president of the Toronto Blueshirts, winners of the Stanley Cup in 1914. He was a member of the world champion Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse team in 1896. From 1927 until 1932 and 1937 until 1942 he served as alderman on Toronto City Council. His brother Emmett Quinn was also an ice hockey executive.
The 1916–17 Toronto Hockey Club season was the fifth and final season of the Toronto franchise in the National Hockey Association (NHA). With the departure of the Toronto 228th Battalion when their regiment was ordered overseas, the NHA decided to suspend the Toronto Blueshirts franchise as well for the remainder of the season. Before the start of the next season, the NHA folded and a new league, the National Hockey League (NHL), was founded with a new team, the Toronto Hockey Club, which went on to become the present day Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 1912–13 Toronto Hockey Club season was the first season of the Toronto franchise in the National Hockey Association (NHA). The team was also known as the Blueshirts.
The 1913–14 Toronto Hockey Club season was the second season of the Toronto franchise in the National Hockey Association (NHA). The Blue Shirts would win the NHA championship in a playoff to take over the Stanley Cup. The club then played and defeated the Victoria Aristocrats in the first hockey "World Series" against the champion of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA).
The Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry is an ice hockey rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, two professional ice hockey clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens and Maple Leafs are the league's oldest teams, with the former established in 1909 and the latter in 1917. Both clubs compete in the Atlantic Division of the NHL's Eastern Conference.