Editing Toronto Maple Leafs (section)

==== Montreal Canadiens ====
{{Main|Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry}}
The rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Maple Leafs is the oldest in the NHL, featuring two clubs that were active since the inaugural NHL season in 1917.<ref name=RivCBC>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/canadiens-maple-leafs-nhl-rivalries-1.3960275|title=NHL 100: Canadiens-Maple Leafs among heated rivalries|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=July 14, 2017|date=January 31, 2017|last=Clipperton|first=Joshua|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420200815/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/canadiens-maple-leafs-nhl-rivalries-1.3960275|archive-date=April 20, 2017}}</ref> In the early 20th century, the rivalry was an embodiment of a larger [[Two Solitudes (Canadian society)|culture war]] between [[English Canada]] and [[French Canada]].<ref name=RivNAP>{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canadiens-versus-leafs-two-rivals-meet-again-but-theyve-changed/wcm/10396669-554f-42a1-b45e-99e84ec294a3|title=Canadiens versus Leafs: Two rivals meet again, but they've changed|date=April 6, 2012|access-date=July 14, 2017|work=National Post |last=O'Connor|first=Joe}}</ref> The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, while the Maple Leafs have won 13, ranking them first and second for most Cup wins, respectively.<ref name="RivCBC" />

[[File:HabsvLeafs2.JPG|thumb|left|A game between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs in March 1938]]
The height of the rivalry was during the 1960s when the Canadiens and Leafs combined to win all but one Cup. The two clubs had 15 playoff meetings. However, the rivalry has waned with the two having not met in the postseason from [[1979 Stanley Cup playoffs|1979]] to [[2021 Stanley Cup playoffs|2021]].<ref name="RivCBC" /> It also suffered when Montreal and Toronto were placed in opposite conferences in [[1981–82 NHL season|1981]], with the Leafs in the Clarence Campbell/Western Conference and the Canadiens in the Prince of Wales/Eastern Conference. The rivalry became intradivisional once again in [[1998–99 NHL season|1998]] when the Leafs were moved into the Eastern Conference's [[Northeast Division (NHL)|Northeast Division]].<ref name="1998Realignment">{{cite news|title=Leafs get wish to play Habs more|last=Shoalts|first=David|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=December 3, 1997|page=S1}}</ref>

The rivalry's cultural imprint may be seen in literature and art. The rivalry from the perspective of the Canadiens fan is captured in the popular Canadian short story ''[[The Hockey Sweater]]'' by [[Roch Carrier]]. Originally published in French as "''Une abominable feuille d'érable sur la glace''" ("An abominable maple leaf on the ice"), it referred to the Maple Leafs sweater a mother forced her son to wear.<ref name="RivNAP" /> The son is presumably based on [[Self-insertion|Carrier himself]] when he was young.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3146716/carriers-the-hockey-sweater-still-captivates-70-years-after-winter-of-1946/|title=Carrier's 'The Hockey Sweater' still captivates, 70 years after winter of 1946|last=Lowrie|first=Morgan|work=Global News|publisher=Corus Entertainment |date=December 24, 2016|access-date=July 14, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129080008/http://globalnews.ca/news/3146716/carriers-the-hockey-sweater-still-captivates-70-years-after-winter-of-1946/|archive-date=January 29, 2017}}</ref> This rivalry is also evident in Toronto's {{stl|TTC|College}} [[Toronto subway|subway station]], which displays murals depicting the two teams, one on each platform (the Leafs mural being on the southbound platform), given that when the murals were installed in 1984, the station was the closest to the Leafs' then-home of [[Maple Leaf Gardens]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Charles Pachter: Canada's Artist|last=Wise|first=Leonard|year=2017|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-3875-1}}</ref> Due in part to the number of Leafs fans living near or in [[Montreal]], and in part to Montreal's relative proximity to Toronto and the rest of Ontario, Maple Leafs–Canadiens games at the [[Bell Centre]] in Montreal typically hold a high amount of Leafs fans.