Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe manages to get the new arena built in a remarkable five-month span during the depths of the Great Depression. An opening-night crowd of 13,233, the largest ever to attend a hockey game up to that time, pays anywhere from 95 cents (general admission) to $2.75 (best seats in the house).
Pipe Major James Fraser and the 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums commence precisely at 8:30 p.m. to indicate the start of the opening ceremony, during which Toronto captain
Hap Day
boldly predicts that the Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs disappoint the big crowd by
losing 2-1
to the Chicago Blackhawks, but they come through when it matters most by fulfilling Day's prediction and winning the Cup.
The Maple Leafs play at the Gardens until they move to Air Canada Centre in 1999.
MORE MOMENTS
1942:
Bep Guidolin
, a 16-year-old forward, becomes the youngest player in NHL history when he plays for the Boston Bruins in
a 3-1 loss
at the Maple Leafs. Guidolin plays 10 seasons with the Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Blackhawks, scoring 107 goals in 519 NHL games, and coaches the Bruins from 1972-74 and the Kansas City Scouts from 1974-76. He also coaches the Edmonton Oilers for 63 games during the 1976-77 World Hockey Association season.
1983:
Wayne Gretzky
gets his 20th NHL hat trick and sets up two other goals to help Edmonton to a
7-3 victory
against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Oilers set a team record (since broken) with their eighth consecutive victory.