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The Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 10 Hockey Movies to Watch During Self-Isolation

By Stephen Nixon

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 14: Fans dressed as the Hanson Brothers cheer along the boards following the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on January 14, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Devils 4-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 14: Fans dressed as the Hanson Brothers cheer along the boards following the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on January 14, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Devils 4-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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With the Toronto Maple Leafs season on hiatus, you might as well turn on a hockey movie to stay engaged in your favorite sport.

Unfortunately for Toronto Maple Leafs fans, the only hockey movie with Leafs content in it is the The Love Guru, which might not crack a top 100 hockey movie list.

It is truly one of the worst movies ever made.

However, below are the the top 10 hockey movies you must watch in descending order:

#10. The Tooth Fairy (2010)

Thoughts: This isn’t Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s best performance of all-time, but for anyone who is a parent this is a fun movie to watch with your kids. The Rock plays a hard-hitting minor league hockey player who who gets summoned to become the tooth fairy, because he doesn’t believe in it. It’s somewhat of a rip-off of The Santa Clause movies, but a good watch for kids.

Grade: D +

#9. Mystery, Alaska (1999)

Thoughts: This movie has a pretty ridiculous plot, however it has a good cast with Burt Reynolds and Russell Crowe as two of the main characters. A small town team in Alaska filled with a bunch of misfits gets the opportunity to play against the New York Rangers, and spoiler alert: they do pretty well.

Grade: C +

#8. Youngblood (1986)

Thoughts: This movie tells the story of a young aspiring hockey player named Dean Youngblood, played by the ageless Rob Lowe. As a skillful 17 year old with the Hamilton Mustangs, Youngblood shows a ton of skill, but lacks toughness, which is a main plot in the movie. If you watch closely, you may be able to spot out former Leafs, Steve Thomas and Peter Zezel who make an appearance in this film.

Grade: B –

#7. Red Army (2014)

Thoughts: Although this is more of a documentary than a film, this movie is tremendous. The film tells you the story of the Soviet Union national hockey team and how dominant they were. In particular, it tells the story of the Russian Five which consists of: Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Slava Kozlov, Igor Larionov and Vladimir Konstantinov.

Grade: B

#6. Miaracle (2004)

Thoughts: Even if you’re not an American citizen, you have to respect the story of the 1980 men’s national Olympic hockey team. This film takes you through the story of Herb Brooks, and ends with the “Miracle on Ice” when Team USA defeat the Soviet Union in one of the biggest upsets in sports history

Grade: B

#5. The Mighty Ducks Franchise (1992, 1994 & 1996)

Thoughts: When you talk about The Mighty Ducks it’s impossible to pick just one movie, so looping all three in is a must. If you were born between 1986-1996 and are a hockey fan, you probably practiced the ‘knuckle-puck’ or ‘flying-v’ during your own practices and that’s what made these movies so special.

Grade: B +

#4. Goon (2011)

Thoughts: This movie is a fun hockey comedy based on a fictional character named Doug Glatt. As you can tell with the title, Glatt gets offered a spot on a minor league hockey team after beating up a fan in the stands of one their games. From there, the movie follows Glatt’s role as the team’s enforcer and eventual lead-up to his fight against Ross “The Boss” Rhea .

Grade:  B +

#3. Happy Gilmore (1996)

Thoughts: If you think this is purely a golf movie you’re wrong. Happy Gilmore is a “hockey player playing golf today.” With plenty of hockey references throughout the entire movie, while sporting a Boston Bruins jersey throughout, Happy Gilmore follows an unsuccessful hockey player only playing golf because he needs to make money to buy his grandmothers house.

Grade: A –

#2. The Rocket (2005)

Thoughts: “I don’t want to see Maurice tonight, I want to see The Rocket!” Although it’s typically hard to recreate a player’s career without using real clips, this movie does an incredible job showcasing the career of Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard. The Rocket was always known as an amazing goal scorer, but this film shows the harder aspects in his life, particularly how violent and almost life-threatening his time was with the Montreal Canadiens.

Grade: A

#1. Slap Shot (1977)

Thoughts: There is no better hockey movie than Slap Shot and there may not be a better hockey leader than Reg Dunlop. As the captain of the Charlestown Chiefs, Dunlop gives permission to the Hanson Brothers to use as much violence as necessary, which ends up exciting fans and drawing attendance. The movie continues through that plot, as the team fights to stay in Charlestown.

Grade: A +

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