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The Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry is an National Hockey League (NHL) rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dating back to 1917, it is the oldest rivalry in the NHL. From 1944–78, the two teams met each other in the playoffs 15 times and faced each other in five Stanley Cup Finals. While the on-ice competition is fierce, the Leafs-Habs rivalry is symbolic of the rivalry between Canada's two largest cities: Toronto and Montreal. Both teams have fans across Canada (and beyond); allegiances are no longer as strongly determined by language spoken as in their early histories. ==History== From the time of the French loss of Quebec City at the Plains of Abraham in 1759, the chief tension in what eventually became Canada has been between English- and French-speaking Canadians. The English Canadians were for the most part of British ethnic stock and Protestant, and were associated with the British Crown. By contrast, the French Canadians (from Quebec and other provinces), were not only of French descent, but were also heavily Roman Catholic in religion and as a group did not possess strong allegiances with the British Crown. When the NHL was created in 1917, these differences continued to play themselves out in the rivalry between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. The Maple Leafs' fanbase consisted mainly of English-speaking Canadians of British descent; in fact, the team's logo from 1927 onward was in essence a stylized version of the Canadian Army's Cap Badge Insignia during World War I. This held particular significance for longtime Leafs owner Conn Smythe, who had served as an artillery officer during the Great War. As late as the 1970s, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, was hung in the Leafs' home arena, Maple Leaf Gardens, and "God Save the Queen" was sung as an anthem before the game (the former practice was famously discontinued by the team's owner at the time, Harold Ballard, who asked, "The Queen doesn't pay anything to get in, does she?"). The Canadiens, meanwhile, captured the imaginations of French-speaking fans, mainly concentrated in the province of Quebec (and to a slightly lesser degree, English-speaking Catholic and Jewish fans in Montreal, as well as English-speaking Catholic fans in eastern Ontario and the Maritimes). In contrast to the anthem practice in Toronto at the time, the Canadiens pioneered the use of the current Canadian national anthem, "O Canada," at the Montreal Forum with bilingual lyrics. Ironically, the Canadiens were responsible for the Maple Leafs' entrance to the League. The NHL had been formed when four of the five teams in the National Hockey Association—including the Canadiens—wanted to get rid of Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone. When they discovered the League constitution did not allow them to simply expel the Blueshirts, they simply created a new league, the NHL, and did not invite the Blueshirts to join them, effectively leaving Livingstone in a one-team league. However, Canadiens owner George Kennedy felt it would be unthinkable not to have a team from Toronto in the new league. The NHL also needed a fourth team to balance the schedule after the Quebec Bulldogs suspended operations due to financial problems (and as it turned out, did not take the ice until 1919). At his suggestion, the NHL granted a temporary franchise to the Blueshirts' landlords, the Toronto Arena Company. The Arena Company was granted a permanent franchise for the next season, known as the Toronto Arenas. The Arenas became the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919 and the Maple Leafs in 1927. The rivalry became especially heated after the Montreal Maroons (a team representing Montreal's Anglophone community) suspended operations (and as it turned out, never returned) in 1938. For the next 32 years, the Habs and Leafs were the only Canadian teams in the league. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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