Toronto marks 100 years of Maple Leafs with special game, day

CTV National News: Celebrating Leaf Nation Toronto's hockey team celebrated a 100-year milestone while paying tribute to the birth of a national obsession. Peter Akman reports.

The City of Toronto put on a special birthday party to mark the centennial of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Dec. 19, 1917, the Montreal Wanderers beat the Toronto Arenas 10-9 on the opening day of the NHL. Toronto’s team name was changed to the Maple Leafs 10 years later. The Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups, the last in 1967.

The team won a special afternoon game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in an 8-1 victory. The Leafs hit the ice wearing jerseys designed to be worn in this “Next Century Game” only.

True to the “next century” theme, kids made up a large portion of the fans in the stands. For many former NHL greats in attendance it was a reminder of where they started.

“As a kid growing up in Ontario, watching Hockey Night in Canada, that was our thing to look forward to,” former Maple Leaf Darryl Sittler told CTV News. “(We’d) have our supper and our bath and watch the Leafs play.”

Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan thanked ticket holders for helping ensure plenty of children got to experience the game.

“We are very excited that many of our fans have given their tickets to kids, or brought kids with them to help launch this next century for us,” he said.

“We have the greatest fans,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “And (we) have had the greatest fans for 100 years, and this is marking the end of that celebration.”

Toronto Mayor John Tory declared Dec. 19, 2017 “Toronto Maple Leafs Day.”

“The Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to unite Torontonians in their love of hockey since 1917,” Tory said in a statement.

“We acknowledge the history of the storied franchise and reflect upon the tremendous impact that the team has had on the City of Toronto and the game of hockey.”

The game was also meaningful to Jason Whittal, who won two tickets after telling the Leafs about his battle with testicular cancer.

Whittal, 41, was diagnosed with the disease in July. He went to the game with his son, Travis.

“I can’t thank my dad (enough) for actually writing that story because it means a lot to me,” Travis said.

With a report from CTV’s Peter Akman and CTV Toronto’s John Musselman