It has been nearly 60 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs lifted the Stanley Cup. However, despite the lengthy trophy drought, the Maple Leafs remain one of the most successful NHL teams in history and as a result of the 13 Stanley Cup triumphs in the long history of the competition, the team from Toronto go into every NHL season with a chance to win the sport’s most coveted prize.
Periods of Domination
Despite the NHL taking ownership of the ice hockey league in 1926, Stanley Cup records can be traced back to 1915, when the Vancouver Millionaires defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-0. Since then, only a couple of teams have managed to dominate the sport and between the years of 1945-1951 and 1962-1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs reigned supreme.
In fact, Toronto’s success on the ice rink can actually be traced back to 1918, when the Toronto Hockey Club won the Stanley Cup. On top of another success in 1922, the team was renamed the Toronto Maple Leafs on 14th February 1927, and the rebranded team went on to enjoy a mixed 1930’s and 40’s. After adding another Stanley Cup trophy to the cabinet in 1932, the Maple Leafs went on to lose six of the next eight finals.
It was a case of seventh time lucky in 1942 when the Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings in stunning fashion, coming back from three down in a seven-match series to triumph 4-3. That comeback win proved the catalyst for Toronto’s first period of domination with the 13-time champions winning five of the next seven editions to establish themselves as the best NHL team in the competition’s brief history at the time.
Cue the Competition
No other team had enjoyed such a prolonged period of domination until 1952, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens to put a pin in the Maple Leaf balloon. The next nine Stanley Cup finals were played out between Montreal and Detroit, with the Canadian team winning six of those head-to-heads, including five on the bounce between 1956 and 1960.
After a brief blip, the Maple Leafs showed signs of a resurgence by making the final in 1959 and 1960, but they had to wait until 1962 to get their name back on the trophy. The four triumphs in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967 represent the last time the Stanley Cup went to Toronto but as the third most successful team in NHL history, the 21-time finalists will be looking to return to the ways of old as soon as possible.
Everything to play for this season
With the 2026 NHL season still in its infancy, ice hockey fans can expect NHL Stanley Cup odds to constantly change in the next six months. The Carolina Hurricanes currently head the list of favourites, but punters will not have to look too far down the list to find the Toronto Maple Leafs. Craig Berube’s charges are sitting nicely in the Atlantic Division but could not follow up an opening game win against their rivals in Montreal (5-2), losing to the Red Wings, the second most successful team in the sport, on matchday 2 (3-6).
Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs are expected to put up a good trophy challenge to break the long run without a Stanley Cup triumph. It is currently a case of unlucky number 13 for the team from Toronto, but with everything to play for this season, anything is possible.
