Quinn Hughes and the NHL's American exodus from Canada
US-born stars are increasingly choosing American clubs over Canadian ones, leaving the Canucks and the league searching for a clear explanation why.
Ice Hockey team
Club · Canada · NHL
«The Leafs»
No fixture on the Toronto Maple Leafs' calendar carries the weight of a night against the Montreal Canadiens.
The franchise itself started under a different name. It entered the NHL's first season in 1917 as the Toronto Arenas, became the Toronto St. Patricks two years later, and only turned into the Maple Leafs in February 1927, when Conn Smythe bought the club and renamed it in honour of the maple leaf worn by Canadian soldiers in the First World War.
Thirteen Stanley Cups followed, including the two won under the old names before 1927. Three of them came in a row, from 1962 to 1964, and the last arrived in 1967 — a title that also closed out the Original Six era and has since become the longest active championship drought in the league. Dave Keon won four of those Cups across an 18-season career spent entirely in Toronto, while Mats Sundin stands as the club's all-time leader in both goals and points. The 1993 playoff run, carried by Doug Gilmour, ended one win short of the Stanley Cup Final in a Campbell Conference loss to the Los Angeles Kings that Toronto fans still argue over.
Rogers Communications and Kilmer Sports now own the club through Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. None of it softens the Montreal fixture.
| 14 Oct | NHL |
|
4:5 | L |
| 11 Oct | NHL |
|
6:3 | W |
| 9 Oct | NHL |
|
3:4 | L |
| 7 Oct | NHL |
|
5:4 | W |
| 4 Oct | NHL |
|
2:3 | L |
| 1 Oct | NHL |
|
2:1 | W |
Group stage · Atlantic Division
| # | Team | M | W | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 19:20 | 0 |
| 5 |
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 19:22 | 0 |
| 5 |
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 10:8 | 0 |
| 6 |
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 24:23 | 0 |
| 6 |
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 10:11 | 0 |
| 7 |
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 9:11 | 0 |
| 8 |
|
6 | 1 | 5 | 14:20 | 0 |
| 8 |
|
5 | 1 | 4 | 11:20 | 0 |
| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 551 | 277 | 274 |
| Scored | 1868 | 951 | 917 |
| Conceded | 1649 | 804 | 845 |
| Scored per game | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| Conceded per game | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| Difference | +219 | +147 | +72 |
US-born stars are increasingly choosing American clubs over Canadian ones, leaving the Canucks and the league searching for a clear explanation why.
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