Originally Posted by
Owdatoon
The rivalry between Montreal and Toronto dates back to the original 6 NHL teams. The two teams were the only Canadian cities to have a franchise and the "hatred" stemmed from trying to be the predominate Cdn team. In 1967, which was the last year that the Leafs won the cup they beat the favoured Montreal Canadiens...Toronto was stacked with old, I mean, veteran players.
Sam Pollock built the Canadiens to the powerhouse that they were for many years, so shrewd that he managed to draft 2 of the top 3 linemates from the Toronto Marlboros one year (Steve Shutt and Dave Gardner) I believe the third member of the line Billy Harris went to the Islanders.
As for attendance to the Leaf games. It is virtually impossible to boycott the Leafs and the consortium knows this. There is a waiting list years long for season's tickets not like Montreal or even other cities in the NHL where you can pick up tickets almost before the game started. This dates back to Pal Hal days....you could see the empty red seats at Maple Leaf Gardens, but Pal Hal didn't care cause the seats were paid for.
As an example, a couple of years ago one of my daughters was down in Tampa Bay presenting at a seminar sponsored by the university she was attending. Hours before a game between Tampa Bay and Florida they got 4 tickets a few rows behind the Lightning bench for $ 100.00 US, 4 tickets for 100 bucks, WOW. The price of the pair of tickets that I won back in 2009 was $ 217.00 each.
I for one, even though a somewhat Leaf fan, would not dish out $ 217.00 for a pair of tickets let alone one. That is why I try and win tickets. :lolsign:
Because many players have family members in the GTA there is always a mixture of jerseys. I used to cheer for a tie when my cousin used to come into town back when there was only 12 teams in the league.
This is a great banter...but don't let it get out of hand..
I personally don't care for Ron Wilson or Brian Burke and am hoping that Wilson will be fired....I prefer more flamboyant coaches, some that show energy, animation, excitement, this type of coach would help in rallying a team....the likes of the late Pat Burns...