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Only two franchises still exist that date back to the origins of the NHL – Montreal and Toronto. The former has kept the same name throughout while that latter took some twists and turns in identity before settling in for the long haul as the Maple Leafs. December 8, 1919 marked the biggest change as the Toronto franchise reorganized as the St. Patrick’s Professional Hockey Club.

When the NHL formed in 1917 and gave a franchise to Toronto, they did not have an official nickname. The press referred to them as the Torontos or the Blueshirts like the former Toronto franchise of the NHA. However, the Toronto Arena Company ran the team and the Arena Gardens where they played, so the team soon became known as the Toronto Arenas. Whatever the name, Toronto won the Stanley Cup in 1918.

However, the franchise ran into financial trouble and had to declare bankruptcy. They could not finish the 1918-19 season. The Arena Company was willing to sell, so GM Charles Querrie got the ball rolling by temporarily changing the team name to the Tecumsehs (likely in honor of his home). When the NHL met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal on December 7, they ratified the new name.

The very next day, December 8, a meeting was held to establish the St. Patrick’s Professional Hockey Club. Two days earlier, the St. Patrick’s Club had tendered fees to participate in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), but the secretary had refused to accept them. As the press reported, “The club manager contended that this was not in order, but the president ruled that the executive had the right to refuse any entries.” Rejected by the OHA, the St. Patrick’s investors made an agreement with Querrie to purchase the NHL franchise. 

They bought out the Toronto Arena Hockey Club for all players and property for about $7,000. Fred Hambly (chairman of the Board of Education) became president, Harvey Sproule the secretary-treasurer, Frank Heffernan (an OHA star skater) the manager, and Querrie the delegate to the NHL. The officers told the press that they “expect that St. Patrick’s will prove as strong as any member of the league.” With the team renamed the St. Patrick’s, they hoped the name would attract some of the large Irish population to attend home games.

Five days later, in the morning of December 13, the NHL held a special meeting at Prince George Hotel. Right away, “it was announced by Mr. Verncombe that he and Mr. Querrie had sold the franchise, players and equipment of the Toronto Arena Club to the St. Patrick Hockey Club.” Once Ottawa moved and the Canadiens seconded the motion, the sale and new St. Patrick Hockey Club was ratified. The club’s representatives were brought in and introduced. They still owed a $5,000 fee to the NHL to make the franchise permanent. In the meantime, they agreed to the schedule that had been devised for the Arenas/Tecumsehs.

The official incorporation date was December 22. Hambly and Querrie and two others each held 99 shares. The St. Patrick’s continued until 1927, when Querrie and other investors wanted to pull out. They thought about selling to someone who wanted to move the team to Philadelphia. Conn Smythe swooped in as the Managing Partner with an offer of $160,000 to keep the team in Toronto. 

On the train ride home from Detroit after losing a game, on February 14, 1927, Smythe announced that the team was being renamed as the Toronto Maple Leafs. They played that very night under the new name. The maple leaf was of course the Canadian national symbol. The Toronto baseball club was named the Maple Leaf, and there was a WWI Maple Leaf Regiment. Smythe said his choice was based mostly on the badges worn by most Canadian military regiments.

In its long history, the Toronto NHL franchise spent less than two seasons as the Arenas, a day as the Tecumsehs, seven and a half years as the St. Patrick’s, and so far, 92 years as the Maples Leafs.

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