By Brian Baker
War was brewing for the National Hockey League in the early 1970s.
The source of ire for then-president Clarence Campbell was a new competitive hockey league started by California businessmen Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson.
The two had jumped on the disputed reserve clause that bound players to NHL teams after their contracts expired with [...more]

By David J. Bercuson
Most Canadians probably knew nothing of Korea in the late spring of 1950. The Second World War was five years in the past and the more than a million Canadians who had fought the war were getting married, having children and settling into civilian life.

By Brian Baker
It cradles the booming voices, the vocal chords thrumming in jubilation as Toronto scores a goal.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs there have been three such homes, increasing in capacity through the years to welcome more members to their family.

By David J. Bercuson
Canada declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939 largely to support Britain and France which had declared war on September 3. At that time, Canada was a nation of just under 11.5 million people and one large group — the French Canadians — had traditionally shown themselves to be wary of [...more]

The synergy continues: our multilingual Canadian history series and the cultural community outreach of Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment through, in part, their designated Cultural Heritage nights and other special events at Toronto Maple Leafs, Marlies and Raptors games.
Tomorrow (Friday) night, at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre for the MLSE’s South Asian Night/Raptors game, our series [...more]

By Brian Baker
The National Hockey League has its own list of names that will be forever immortalized. Besides the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 1960s dynasty, we can identify eight other periods in time when one team ruled.

By David J. Bercuson
Canada was not even an independent nation when it fought its costliest war ever, the First World War, which for Canada began on August 4, 1914. When the war ended on November 11, 1918, Canada’s soldiers — indeed Canada’s entire war effort — gained a vital step on the road to full [...more]

The last time Leafs Nation got to see their team hoist the Stanley Cup was at the tail end of their very own dynasty.

By Norman Hillmer
Canadian governments have been unsuccessful in describing their foreign policy. Prime ministers Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin each published glossy booklets outlining Canada’s role in the world. All were full of incoherent generalities and all were quickly forgotten.

As you may already have noticed Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment (MLSE) has proudly supported The Canadian Experience series. We in turn have been proud to share the culture of hockey with our New Mainstream® audience through our special Canada’s Hockey Experience series on this site; but we’re also excited about new [...more]