Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets

The Maple Leafs are one of the oldest teams in the NHL and were part of the Original Six, and were also one of the most dominant teams of that era.

Though the Leafs have put together several strong teams, including ones led by Mats Sundin during the 1990s and early 2000s, the team has struggled to reach the Stanley Cup Final in the expansion era. They came closest in 1992, when they had a 3-2 series lead on the Los Angeles Kings in the conference final. Make sure you don’t mention the name “Kerry Fraser” in Toronto. Fraser is typically regarded as one of the NHL’s best referees of all time, but he missed a blatant high sticking call in overtime of Game 6. Wayne Gretzky, who had committed the uncalled penalty when his stick hit Doug Gilmour, scored the game-winning goal in overtime and then played one of the best games of his career in Game 7 to eliminate the Leafs.

Before the 2015-16 season, the Leafs hired Mike Babcock as their head coach. Babcock had coached the Detroit Red Wings to multiple Stanley Cup Finals and was highly sought after when his contract with the Red Wings expired. Though the Leafs finished in last place during Babcock’s first season, the team quickly rebounded. They drafted Auston Matthews after winning the first overall pick in the draft lottery. With Matthews as the centerpiece, Toronto has built a young, skilled team with players like Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Nazem Kadri. The Leafs returned to the playoffs in 2017, just a year after their last place finish. In 2018, the Leafs made the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-2004.