Why Do Leafs Fans Hate the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens?

They’re two of hockey’s greatest rivalries, one going back to the beginning of the 20th century, and one starting just years before that same century was over. Whenever a conversation starts about the Leafs’ greatest rivals, the two names first uttered will be the Habs and the Sens.

These rivalries have definitely lost some of their intensity over the past few years, with the Leafs being out of the playoffs every year in recent memory, but games against these teams certainly still have more passion and the fans get into the game more as well.

There are some reasons that both teams are hated by Leafs fans. One is the fact that the teams are in the same division as the Leafs. This means they play the Leafs 8 times every season compared to some teams once and others not at all. This increased exposure allows players to develop grudges and often events from previous games build on each other, maximizing intensity and hatred. They also are within relatively close proximities of each other. This contributes to fans of the teams to be mixed in the three areas. For example, there will be Senator fans in Montreal, and Canadiens (Habs) fans in Toronto. This sparks debates at the water coolers over the previous night’s games over who is better, adding to the hate, and making the need for success against each other so much more crucial if for nothing else than bragging rights.

There are also some reasons specific to the Habs and Sens that create bad blood. The Toronto-Montreal rivalry goes back so far that many don’t know where or when or how it began, but most of its basis came from the days of the Original Six Era, when the only teams in the NHL were Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York, and Detroit. This meant these teams played each other a number of times every year, and Montreal met Toronto in the playoffs frequently due to the lack of teams in the league. In fact, according to a website dedicated to the history of the Montreal Canadiens, in a span of 13 years, (1956-1970) either Montreal or Toronto was etched onto the Stanley Cup for 12 of those years. ourhistory.canadiens.com/opponent/Toronto-Maple-Leafs
Whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Ottawa Senators, it is dubbed, “The Battle of Ontario,” and although this is a much newer rivalry, it could certainly be argued it is the more intense of the two, mainly due to two significant events that took place between the two teams.

1. The first is a number of playoff series in which the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators. These took place in a very short amount of time, and it seemed at the time that the two teams met every year with the Leafs coming out on top. The climax of these series came in Game 7 of the 2004 playoffs. Joe Nieuwendyk scored two weak goals on Sens goalie Patrick Lalime to give his team the win. This obviously made Ottawa fans detest the Maple Leafs. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfuBxEfFWvM
2. The replays of one hit still boil Leaf fans collective blood. Late in the third period of Game 5 in the 2002 NHL playoffs, Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson placed a questionable hit on Leafs forward Darcy Tucker. Toronto fans agree a penalty should have undoubtedly been called. With Tucker lying on the ice writhing in pain, the Senators’ (you guessed it) Daniel Alfredsson scored what ended up being the winning goal.

Find out what TSN thinks are the top 10 best Sens-Leafs moments. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cib07oQ-a_8&feature=fvw