Toronto Arenas
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.
| Toronto Arenas | |
|---|---|
| List of Toronto Arenas seasons | |
| Founded | 1917 |
| History | Toronto Arenas 1917–18 Toronto Arenas 1918–19 Toronto St. Patricks 1919–27 Toronto Maple Leafs 1927–present |
| Home arena | Arena Gardens |
| City | Toronto, Ontario |
| Team colours | Royal blue, white |
| Owner(s) | Toronto Arena Company 1917–18 Hubert Vearncombe 1918–19 |
| Stanley Cups | 1918 |
For the first season, 1917–18, the team operated without a formal organization separate from the Arena Company and without an official club nickname. However, the press would dub the team the "Blue Shirts" or "Torontos" as they had done with the NHA franchise. After the 1918–1919 season, the Arena Company was granted a permanent franchise in the NHL, which evolved into today's Toronto Maple Leafs.