In honour of New Years, we present Toronto Maple Leafs New Year’s trivia.
Happy New Year! It has almost been a full year since we’ve released Toronto Maple Leafs trivia. Considering that there’s no better way to start 2021, we knew the timing was right for an updated game.
If you haven’t yet tried it, you should really gather with friends and test your knowledge by playing From Easy to Impossible Maple Leafs Trivia. There’s even a Toronto Raptors version for once you master hockey.
Since it is New Year’s Day, what you’re about to try is a New Year’s themed Toronto Maple Leafs Quiz. To play, you just have to answer the question as best as you can. Once ready, mash the “next” button to reveal the answer. If you’re playing with friends, it’s highly encouraged that you celebrate each right answer by mimicking a classic goal celebration. However, we strongly advise against jumping into the glass in your home.
Here is your first question:
In the movie, The Love Guru, a longtime friend of the Maple Leafs Superfan, Mike Myers, played a role. Born on Jan. 1, 1969, Verne Troyer was cast as holding which job in the Leafs organization?
a) The General Manager
b) The Head Coach
c) A Player
d) The Equipment Manager
e) This is a trick question because Troyer never even appeared in the movie. The quiz master is trying to confuse us into thinking about his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers franchise, in which Myers was also the star.
The Answer to Question 1
B – Head Coach
In the 2008 film, Love Guru, Troyer played the role of an ornery, foul-mouth character. He was the Maple Leafs head coach in the movie, given the name Coach Punch Cherkov.
The film was filled with celebrities. Myers played four different roles. He also had Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Jessica Alba, Jim Gaffigan, Ben Kingsley, Deepak Chopra, Jessica Simpson, Romany Malco, Daniel Tosh, Samantha Bee, Sean Cullen, and Rob Blake all take part in the film.
Sadly, Troyer passed away in April of 2018. He was 49.
Question 2
On Jan. 1, 2013, the Toronto Maple Leafs were scheduled to play their first Winter Classic, the outdoor game that counts as a part of the NHL regular season. The game did not proceed as planned due to unforeseen circumstances. What caused the cancellation of that game?
a) The temperature was too hot so the water wouldn’t freeze.
b) There was a terrible blizzard on that day. The conditions were so harsh that the game was unplayable.
c) A pipe at the stadium burst, releasing raw sewage into the stands the day before the event.
d) The NHL was in a lockout so no games were played.
e) Killer bees were discovered in the visitor dressing room so while the game wasn’t played, the Leafs were handed a victory due to a forfeit.
The Answer to Question 2
D – Due to lockout
On Jan. 1, 2013, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings were scheduled to play in the Winter Classic in front of over 100,000 fans at Michigan Stadium. It would have been the Leafs’ first-ever Winter Classic and the Red Wings’ second. Detroit had already participated in the NHL’s second-ever version of the event back in 2009. They beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 in Wrigley Field in front of 40,818 fans.
The 2012-13 NHL season was interrupted by the league deciding to lockout its players after a new collective agreement couldn’t be reached between the parties. The season didn’t begin as planned on Oct. 11, 2012. It took the NHL and NHLPA until Jan. 6, 2013, just five days after the Leafs and Wings were supposed to square off, to reach a new tentative agreement. That deal ratified on the 12th of the month and a shortened season began on the 19th. The League played just a 48 game season as a result of the lockout.
Question 3
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Red Wings ended up playing in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2014. What were the results of Toronto’s only appearance in the spectacle?
a) The Maple Leafs won the game 3-2 in a shootout.
b) The Maple Leafs won the game 5-0 in a route.
c) The Maple Leafs lost the game 2-3 in regulation.
d) The Maple Leafs lost the game 0-5 in a route.
e) The game ended in a tie, the only one to ever happen in a Winter Classic game.
The Answer to Question 3
A – The Toronto Maple Leafs won the game 3-2 in a shootout.
On Jan.1, 2014, Ann Arbor, MI filled up with hockey fans. The Winter Classic that hadn’t run the previous year was rescheduled and was finally played. It brought 105,491 fans to the stadium despite a heavy snowfall that would not relent. Due to the weather, fans continued to file into the stadium well into the second period of the game.
In the game itself, Daniel Alfredsson opened the scoring to give Detroit the lead at 13:14 in the second period. James van Riemsdyk responded with a goal of his own six minutes later.
The teams came out for the third period tied at one. It only took 4 minutes and 41 seconds for that to change. Tyler Bozak put the puck past Jimmy Howard getting Captain Dion Phaneuf his second assist of the game. Justin Abdelkader tied the game again with five and a half minutes remaining in regulation.
When no one scored in regulation, the game had to be determined via shootout. Alfredsson, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Tatar all took shots against the Leafs netminder, Jonathan Bernier. Only Datsyuk was successful.
The Toronto Maple Leafs sent Van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, and Bozak. Both Lupul and Bozak managed to find twine giving the Leafs the win. Bozak was named the third star of the game thanks to his efforts. Howard was given the second star due to his 24 save performance and Bernier earned the first start after making 41 stops.
Question 4
On New Year’s Day in 2014, the Toronto Maple Leafs picked up Tim Gleason in a trade. Which of the following players went the other way in that transaction?
a) Mason Raymond
b) John Michael-Liles
c) Colton Orr
d) Carl Gunnarsson
e) Phil Kessel
The Answer to Question 4
B – John Michael-Liles
On Jan. 1, 2014, the Toronto Maple Leafs swung a deal to make American defenseman, Tim Gleason, a member of the franchise. In order to complete the deal, Toronto had to send both Michael-Liles and their prospect Dennis Robertson, who was a Brown University senior at the time, to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Gleason spent just that one season with the Leafs. In 39 games, he tallied a goal and four assists and went -14. He also sat for 55 penalty minutes. Meanwhile, Michael-Liles remained in Carolina for three seasons. He played 156 games for the Canes where he scored 10 goals and 36 assists for a total of 46 points.
Robertson never managed to find his way to the NHL. He did play parts of six seasons for the Charlotte Checkers, the Hurricanes AHL affiliate. Interestingly, Robertson was traded to Carolina a second time after they had sent him to Chicago. Going the other way in the exchange was the former Maple Leafs goalie, Drew MacIntyre.
Question 5
Which Toronto Maple Leafs player scored his first-ever NHL goal on New Year’s Day in 2011?
a) Darryl Boyce
b) Joey Crabbe
c) Tim Brent
d) Carl Gunnarsson
e) James Reimer
The Answer to Question 5
A – Darryl Boyce
On Jan. 1, 2011, James Reimer was between the pipes for his first-ever start as an NHL goalie. He had previously only come in for relief. Reimer had a great view of his squad embarrassing the hapless Ottawa Senators by beating them 5-1 in their own arena.
The line of Joey Crabb, Bozak, and Phil Kessel were playing particularly well that night. Bozak potted two goals in the game, each assisted by both Crabb and Kessel. The only player to score for Ottawa was their star defenseman, Sergei Gonchar.
Reimer must have been pleased with his milestone performance. He earned the win by making 32 saves, good enough for a .970 save percentage. As meaningful as that win must have been for the 24-year-old goalie, it was equally as memorable for Darryl Boyce.
Boyce played 46 games that year with the Buds. He managed to score just four more times. Boyce played 37 games the following season between Toronto and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored one more goal that year, giving him a career total of 84 games.
In that New Year’s Day game against the Sens, Boyce scored his first NHL goal at 3:18 in the second period. It was assisted by Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong.
Question 6
In what year did the Toronto Maple Leafs organization play their first-ever New Year’s Day game?
a) 1917
b) 1920
c) 1926
d) 1982
e) 2020
The Answer to Question 6
C – 1926
The Toronto Maple Leafs organization played its inaugural season in 1917. They were known at the time as the Toronto Arenas because they were owned by the Toronto Arena Company. Ahead of the 1919-20 season, the team was sold, with the majority stake picked up by Charles Querrie for $5000. The organization was now on its second name. They became known as the Toronto St. Patricks.
It was as the St. Pats that they played their first game on New Year’s Day, 1926. It was a good day on Mutual Street in the Big Smoke. The St. Pats put up three points while the Senators were unable to score, securing the win and shutout for goalie John Ross Roach.
Question 7
Which moment in Maple Leafs’ history became known as the “New Year’s Massacre”?
a) On New Year’s Day in 1988, Maple Leafs owner, Harold Ballard, was just released from the hospital after suffering a mild heart attack. His first act was to ask General Manager Gerry McNamara to resign. When McNamara refused, Ballard fired him.
b) On Jan. 1, 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager, John Ferguson Jr. made the trade that still haunts fans. He sent Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Andrew Raycroft.
c) On New Year’s Day in 2000, the Buffalo Sabres demolished the Maple Leafs in a game. The final score was 8-1 in favor of the Sabres.
d) On Jan. 1, 1948, the ownership team of Maple Leaf Gardens, the former home arena of the organization, informed the Toronto Huskies that they were no longer welcome to play their games in the facility. As a result, the Huskies were dropped from the Basketball Association of America (The league that later became the NBA) after just one season.
e) On New Year’s Day in 2015, Phil Kessel ate 16 hotdogs as a part of a charity event.
The Answer to Question 7
C – An 8-1 loss to the Sabres in 2000.
This may have been the toughest question to answer due to reality mixed into a number of possible responses. We can dismiss option E immediately.
The link between Kessel and hot dogs is as a result of comments written in the Toronto Sun. On July 2, 2015, Steve Simmons wrote, “The hot dog vendor who parks daily at Front and John Sts. just lost his most reliable customer. Almost every afternoon at 2:30 p.m., often wearing a toque, Phil Kessel would wander from his neighborhood condominium to consume his daily snack. And now he’s gone. Just like that.” Kessel did not eat hot dogs en masse for a New Year’s Day charity event.
Option D was a combination of fact and fiction. Canada’s first professional basketball team was the Huskies who played their home games at Maple Leaf Gardens. The franchise lasted just one season, 1946-47. The reason they disbanded is due to the ownership group bleeding money. It is believed that the owners lost $100,000 in their only year of operation.
Both options A and B happened as described. Neither were known as the New Year’s Massacre because while they were stains on the Leafs history, they didn’t take place on Jan. 1.
Ballard, the man who many believe cursed the Toronto Maple Leafs, did in fact fire his GM after being released from the hospital. McNamara’s club had only won one game in 1988 after playing 21 games. They were also in last place in the league, which is what likely prompted Ballard to ask for McNamara’s resignation.
Sadly, the swap of goaltenders, Rask for Raycroft, did happen no matter how hard you try to forget it. While the deal was a massacre for Toronto, it went down on June 24, 2006.
The term “New Year’s Massacre” was coined by general manager Pat Quinn in response to the horrible effort put forth by this Leafs group in the game they played on Jan. 1, 2000. The Sabres were all over Toronto that night, beating them 1-8 in Buffalo. The lone Leafs goal in that game came on the powerplay off the stick of their captain, Mats Sundin.
Question 8
When Gregg McKegg was recalled from the Toronto Marlies to the Maple Leafs on New Year’s Day in 2015, which player was placed on the IR to make room for him on the roster?
a) David Clarkson
b) Joffrey Lupul
c) Stephane Robidas
d) Colton Orr
e) Nathan Horton
The Answer to Question 8
B-Joffrey Lupul
The trouble with answering this question is trying to recall a very ordinary moment of Maple Leafs history. Players are often recalled when an injury takes place. There’s even a chance that McKegg himself couldn’t answer this question as it was the third time in his career that he had been called up to play in the NHL. This particular assignment lasted only two games.
McKegg played eight shifts for a total of 04:22 minutes of ice time. He must have impressed in his limited appearance because the following night he was given 11:16 minutes of ice time on 18 shifts. Unfortunately, McKegg didn’t find his way onto the scoresheet in either game. He also didn’t get another shot to play with the Leafs until Mar 26 that season.
Lupul, who was 31-years-old at the time, had already been fighting injuries when he got hurt once again. This time, he suffered a lower-body injury during a New Year’s Eve game against the Bruins.
Lupul missed almost an entire month of action as a result of that injury. Specifically, he sat out for 11 games. To this day, it is unknown what part of his lower-body was actually injured. It was never publically revealed. What is known is that Lupul’s next game was played on Jan. 29 that year.
Lupul’s last game in the NHL took place nearly one full year later. It was on Feb. 6, 2016, where he suffered a “middle-body injury” in a game against the Sens. That injury forced Lupul to get a sports hernia surgery.
While Lupul’s career was coming to an end, McKegg’s was just getting started. McKegg only played a total of four games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in his two years in the organization but has gone on to play many more.
In his seven years in the NHL, McKegg has played a total of 185 games. In the 2019-20 season, playing for the New York Rangers, he played more games than he ever had before. McKegg took to the ice in 53 games where he recorded five goals and four assists.
That wraps up another round of Toronto Maple Leafs trivia. Even just getting one of these answers right should be seen as an accomplishment. Congratulations. Now hit the showers or treat yourself to an ice bath. You deserve it!