Rivals: Legendary Matchups That Made Sports History

8. A Tale of Two Cities: The Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens

eight A Tale of Two Cities The Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens B R I A N P. S O E B B I N G A N D D A N I E L S . M A S O N The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs remain two of the most successful and enduring franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL). The two teams have won the most Stanley Cup Championships and have a rivalry that dates back over ninety years. Just as the two franchises have vied for hockey supremacy over the years, Montreal and Toronto have also contended for status as Canada’s premier city. The purpose of this chapter is to review the historic relationship between the two franchises and cities. Following a brief overview of both cities, we explore the competitive relationship between the two teams. The development of new facilities to replace the Forum in Montreal and Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto is then discussed in the context of these broader changes. In doing so, the evolving rivalry between the two teams will be revealed. Toronto and Montreal Although the two cities have at various times vied for economic and cultural dominance, Toronto and Montreal have very different reputations. Basic comparisons have typically considered Toronto as a “good” city, or “city that works,” while Montreal is more associated with its Europeaninfluenced cultural elements.1 As a result, some have considered that the two cities have developed identities that are rooted in their differences from one another.2 From its earliest days, Montreal was clearly the hub of Canadian culture, industry, and sport.3 For the first seventy years or so of the twentieth century, Montreal remained Canada’s financial center. 1WIGGINS_pages:Layout 1 2/11/10 3:25 PM Page 175 However, starting in the 1970s the out-migration of Anglophone Canadians in Montreal, specifically—and the province of Quebec, more generally—began to occur. Meanwhile, Toronto continued to grow in size and influence. Deep-seated Anglophone-Francophone tensions also provided a backdrop for the post–World II shift in prominence of the two cities, and hockey’s cultural significance in Montreal and Quebec has been linked to the broader changes that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. For example, the “Richard Riot” of 1955—when Canadiens’ star, Maurice “Rocket” Richard, was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs for an on-ice incident—is widely considered a turning point in Quebec’s Quiet Revolution.4 Pent-up anger and frustration manifested itself in the riot, where Montrealers rebelled against their local Francophone hero’s punishment by the NHL. While Francophones held a population majority in Montreal since the 1870s, the French-speaking population only gained power in the province and city in the 1960s and 1970s.5 During the last decades of the twentieth century, “widespread changes in the economy and culture of Montreal have occurred against the backdrop of postwar struggles for Quebec independence, the election of pro-sovereignty governments and significant changes in Quebec’s socioeconomicanddemographiccomposition.”6 Thisalsoledtotheemergence of partitionism, where in the aftermath of the 1995 referendum— which saw Quebec remain a part of Canada by a very narrow margin —arguments were put forth that Quebec could secede from Canada but give citizens the choice to remain in Canada and not leave the territory.7 At the same time, the City of Montreal has aggressively pursued a strategytopositionitself asatouristcity.Thefirstmajorforayintocreating the city as an event destination occurred during the 1960s through the mid 1970s, when the city hosted two mega-events: Expo ’67 and the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Expo ’67 attracted 50 million visitors, and $1.5 billion was invested in infrastructure. The Olympic Games, originally projected to cost $121 million, eventually required an investment of $922 million . By itself, Olympic Stadium cost an additional $537 million after the games were over, and the total cost of the games, including debt, was in excess of $3 billion.8 As one observer noted, “Montreal is caught in this double bind between striving to become a ‘world class city’ and preserving and cultivating specificity, or distinctiveness.”9 Since the 1970s, Toronto has surpassed Montreal in terms of pop176 BRIAN P. SOEBBING AND DANIEL S. MASON 1WIGGINS_pages:Layout 1 2/11/10 3:25 PM Page 176 ulation and economic influence. Immediately following the Second World War, Toronto witnessed rapid growth in manufacturing, housing...