Top 10 Scandals in the History of the Toronto Maple Leafs

9. The Mandela-Bernier Effect

Everyone has a tendency to misspeak at times. On Dec. 6, 2014, goaltender Jonathan Bernier would have been wise to have not said anything at all.

MLSE held an event titled “Giant of Africa” on that date. It was a celebration prior to honoring the legacy and accomplishments of Nelson Mandela at a Toronto Raptors game. Bernier was in attendance for the event.

Mandela first rose to fame for leading the resistance to South Africa’s apartheid policies. His involvement led to his incarceration at Robben Island Prison. Mandela refused to allow the mistreatment of Black South Africans, which upset authorities and saw him arrested many times. Mandela ultimately spent over 27 years in prison.

In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize thanks to the years of work he had undertaken to end apartheid. A year later, he was elected president in the country’s first universal suffrage elections. Mandela remains one of the world’s most respected figures. It’s why the Raptors were celebrating his life.

While walking the red carpet, Bernier was asked by a reporter, “Obviously Nelson Mandela, one of the most significant, historical figures of the 20th century. What knowledge or awareness do you have of him growing up, or when did you learn of him?”

The stopper did not answer this question well at all. Let’s not chastise Bernier for being unaware of the breadth of accomplishments the man he was there to honor had achieved. Let’s not even given Bernier difficulty for not knowing who Mandela was at all. His answer to the reporter’s question, though was less than ideal.

For some unknown reason, instead of Bernier answering the question he was posed by saying he looks forward to learning more about Mandela, he chose to opine on the historical honoree.

Bernier told the reporter, “He is one of the most known athletes in the world and a lot of impact in any kind of sport that he did. Even playing hockey, everyone knows him. From being the type of person he was off the ice and on the ice. It’s unfortunate he passed away a year ago. But you know he changed a lot while he was with us and he’s a tremendous guy.”

While many laughed at Bernier’s gaff. He should receive credit for his involvement in that evening. The proceed from the event were given to the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Raptors President Masai Ujiri’s non-profit organization, Giants of Africa.

8. The Uncalled High Stick

On May 27, 1993, NHL referee Kerry Fraser became the most hated person in the City of Toronto.

The Buds were playing Game 6 of their Campbell Conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings, with the Toronto Maple Leafs up 3-2 and just a single win away from going to the Stanley Cup finals.

It would have been their first time in a position to win-it-all since they hoisted the mug in 1967.

With the scored tied, the Kings superstar, Wayne Gretzky, took a slap shot in Toronto’s zone.

It was blocked by defenseman Jamie Macoun. Gretzky went to retrieve the puck and in doing so, accidentally clipped Doug Gilmour‘s chin with his stick.

The Leafs’ centre fell immediately to the ice and even drew blood.

Based on the rules that season, the infraction should have seen the Maple Leafs go on a five-minute power play, and Gretzky should have been given a major penalty since blood was drawn.

That would have also seen The Great One ejected.

Though Fraser consulted with his linesmen, no penalty was called, and Gretzky remained in the game.

To make the situation worse, Gretzky was the one who scored the overtime winner, sending the series to a deciding seventh game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost Game 7 and their best chance of winning a championship in 30 years.

7. “Salute Gate”

On Nov. 20, 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs players became overtly salty with their fans.

That evening, the club improved to a respectable record of 10-8-2 with a 5-2 win over one of the NHL’s top teams at the time, the Tampa Bay Lightning. But, before we get into what happened that night, it’s important to back up to the Leafs previous game.

Two days earlier, while playing at home at the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs got thumped to the tune of a 9–2 loss to the Nashville Predators.

It was the team’s third loss in a row. One fan in attendance chose to show their displeasure by committing the disrespectful act of throwing their Leafs jersey onto the ice.

Considering the team still had a winning record at the time, it was a strange act of protest. It also appeared to have garnered the attention of Toronto’s players.

Fans learned that the players were unhappy with being disrespected as they retaliated in a very unique manner.

Once the Nov. 20 game ended, the players all took to the ice to congratulate one another. With the game taking place in Toronto, the expectation was that they would then all proceed to center ice.

Normally, the victorious home team’s players would skate there following the final horn. They would gather together and raise their sticks to salute the fans in a way of saying “thank you” to those supporting them. On this night, the players chose to skip the customary actions.

Captain Dion Phaneuf insisted that the team was was simply trying out alternative celebrations. The excuse fall flat and the actions led to a great deal of media and backlash from fans on social media. Though, in retrospect, the whole situation is a silly one; it had Leafs nation in a frenzy for several weeks.

6. Wrong Man at the Helm

On its own, just hiring Mike Babcock to join the Toronto Maple Leafs is somewhat of a head scratcher when considering how much President Brendan Shanahan paid the coach to leave the Detroit Red Wings behind.

For those that don’t remember, it was a large feat for the  Leafs to outbid other NHL suitors for Babcock’s services.

The city rejoiced when Shanahan opened the MLSE coffers and gave Babcock a six-year contract with an annual salary worth $6.25 million. At the time, it more than doubled Todd McLellan’s record of $3 million per season as the highest-paid coach in the NHL.

It appeared as though the Toronto Maple Leafs had found the man that would bring them to the top of the NHL mountain.

Afterall, he already had the pedigree and wore a Stanley Cup ring to prove it. Babcock had taken multiple Red Wings teams and an Anaheim Ducks squad to the Stanley Cup finals, and he surpassed Jack Adam in Detroit for most wins as a coach.

In Toronto, things didn’t go as smoothly. There we constant stories about disagreements between the players and their coach. He famously sat Jason Spezza, keeping him from his Maple Leafs debut on home ice despite the player having purchased a number of tickets for family and friends.

There were also calls for Babcock to change and adapt his coaching style. His rigid systems didn’t allow for creativity. He was also unable or unwilling to make in-game adjustments.

The biggest problem with Babcock was the accusation of abuse of his players. After he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs, stories begun to be reported about him mistreating his players.

In Toronto, it came out that the coach asked Mitch Marner, during his rookie season, to rank all of his teammates in order of their work ethic. Babcock then shared that list with the team. The explanation Babcock gave for having done this was to help Marner “focus on work ethic”.

Now, far removed from Toronto, controversy has followed the bench boss. Despite knowing his past, the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Babcock to be their head coach on July 1, 2023.

It did not go well.  

5. Brushes with the Police

On Jan. 22, 1916, Alfie “Alf” Skinner, while playing for the Blueshirts, was the victim of assault. That’s what the police said when they arrested Skene Ronan of the Montreal Canadiens. Following a physical game between the two clubs, Ronan was arraigned at the Agnes Street station in Toronto. He was released on $200 bail.

With the Canadiens manager, George Kennedy acting as a witness in defense of Ronan, the player was acquitted of the charge.

That wasn’t Skinner’s only brush with the law. Almost exactly two years later, on Jan. 28, 1918, it was Skinner’s turn to be arrested following a contest with Montreal.

At the time, the club was named the Toronto Arenas, and Skinner had gotten into it with defenseman “Bad Joe” Hall on the Canadiens.

Both men used their sticks as weapons that night and had hit each other with them.

The Ottawa Citizen reported that during the third period “Hall was rushing down the ice with the puck when Skinner charged out to meet him.

Skinner poked the notorious ‘bad man’ under the chin and knocked him out.” For his actions, Skinner served a minor penalty. When the game concluded, he was headed to his team bench when Hall hit him so hard he needed to be carried off the ice. It was said that Skinner’s blow was strong enough to knock out several of Hall’s teeth.

The stick fight was enough to land both athletes in handcuffs when the contest ended. They were each charged with assault and let out on $100 bail, which their respective managers put up.

Skinner and Hall went to court the next day. Each of their sentences were suspended, and both men promised to obey the law for all future games.

4. Domi’s Sharp Elbow

Before he was known as Max Domi’s father or even a failed comic, Tie Domi was a fan favorite with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s because he was never afraid to get physical on the ice and drop his mitts with larger opponents.

Playing with grit and sandpaper helped Domi have longevity in the NHL. He lasted 16 years in the league, long enough to collect 333 fights and 3,753 penalty minutes. That style of play may have benefited the enforcer from Windsor, Ontario, but it also got him in trouble.

On May 3, 2001 Domi crossed the line in what he described in his autobiography as “the dumbest thing I did in my career.” Playing in Game 4 of the Easter Conference Semi-Finals against the New Jersey Devils, Domi suckered Scott Niedermayer with an unprovoked elbow to the face. The defenseman was knocked unconscious and lay motionless on the ice.

Niedermayer was flown to New Jersey and brought to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. He underwent a CAT scan and neurological tests. In the end, it was determined that Niedermayer had suffered a concussion.

Domi would explain in his book that the elbow was an act of revenge for taking a Niedermayer stick to the bridge of his nose in Game 2 of the series. He admit that the act was premeditated, which makes his action so much worse.

Following the incident, Niedermayer told reporters that Domi had planned the attack and even warned the Devil two games earlier that retribution was coming. “He said he was going to take a suspension on me,” Nidermayer said of Domi.

Domi did apologize to the blue liner at the time. He left a message on Niedermayer’s answering machine.

While the Leafs won the game, the team lost Domi for the rest of the series. That’s because he was suspended for the remainder of the playoffs and eight regular season games to start the 2001-02 campaign.

3. Fired and Rehired

Former Maple Leafs Owner Harold Ballard was a despicable man. There are many examples that point to this very conclusion. One of them was the treatment of his team’s head coach, Roger Neilson.

In 1979, Ballard publicly questioned his coach’s methods. It’s believed that there was a plan in place to dismiss Neilson. Following a loss in the Montreal Forum, that plan was expedited by TV host Dick Beddoes. With cameras rolling, he chased down Ballard in the arena hallway. The pair had a conversation, followed by Beddoes immediately telling his viewers live on air that Neilson was fired.

With the public already aware, Ballard wasn’t brave enough to deliver the news to Neilson himself. Instead, he tasked general manager Jim Gregory to do it and to also tell Assistant Coach Al Dunford that he too was no longer a part of the organization.

The decision appeared to be a hasty one. Ballard asked former coach John McLellan to take the job and he refused. McLellan had ulcers that he attributed to being a coach under Ballard, and he didn’t want to subject himself to that environment again.

When McLellan wouldn’t accept the role, Ballared approached Eddie Johnston, the Moncton, N.B., farm team coach. Since that club was associated with the Chicago Blackhawks, Johnston was not able to accept the Leafs job.

There were others like Gerry McNamara, a hockey scout who were also approached for the position.

Meanwhile, Ballard still hadn’t spoken with Neilson. The first conversation came when they ran into each other at Maple Leafs Gardens when the ex-coach was removing his belongings from the building. Neilson saw Ballard on a bench, being tended to in an unorthodox way, having his toenails clipped by the team trainer, Guy Kinnear.

The next day, after the players ran morning skate by themselves, captain Darryl Sittler accompanied by a few veteran teammates including Tiger Williams went to Ballard and asked for Neilson to return. The media and fans had also turned on Ballard for the firing.

The mounting pressure had the owner re-hire Neilson after just two days. However, in an effort to make the return a theatrical moment, Ballard tried to do something unthinkable. He wanted Neilson to wear a paper bag on the bench to hide his identity before revealing himself as the new Leafs coach to the crowd.

Gord Stellick who was a hockey assistant at the time shared, “Game time was coming up and Harold came out of his office in his bathrobe. That’s when I heard him tell Gregory he wanted Roger to wear the bag. No one would be standing behind our bench until just before puck drop, then Roger would come out wearing the bag and pull it off or have someone do it at the last second.”

When the GM didn’t want to go through with the plan, Ballard was enraged. Stellick explained, “[Ballard] just launched into this four-letter rant, yelling: ‘He’d better wear the f—ing bag or he won’t coach.”

Despite Ballard’s insistence, Neilson was advised by Dunford not to wear the bag because he would look like a fool doing so. Fortunately, Neilson took his assistant coach’s advice, and the bag was never adorned.

2. One of Toronto’s Biggest Debtors

This is the Toronto Maple Leafs most recent scandal. It goes back to this summer when the team’s parent company, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) got in trouble for being one of largest property tax debtors in the city of Toronto.

The CBC reported that in April, it became public that MLSE owed the city approximately  $1.18 million in unpaid taxes on BMO field. That sum had been accrued dating back to the 2019 tax year.

MLSE disputed the charges because they say that they don’t own BMO Field, nor do they lease it. It’s an interesting argument for the company that sees both the Toronto Argonauts and Toronto FC play its home games in the stadium.

MLSE’s position does have merit even if it appears as though they are trying to skirt paying a bill. MLSE told CBC that their agreement with BMO Field is a “management agreement” and they pay a “user fee” to hold events inside.

When Taylor Swift comes to Toronto and plays the Rogers Centre, the city wouldn’t charge her property taxes. She and her team pays to use the venue.

The company explained, “As is publicly known, MLSE leases two properties on the Exhibition Place grounds, OVO Athletic Centre and Coca-Cola Coliseum, where all rents and taxes for which it is responsible have been duly and punctually paid,” the MSLE statement reads.

A resolution is expected very soon.

1. Harold Ballard Goes to Jail

We’ve already seen the former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs engage in some unsavory behaviour in this list. In 1972, Ballard paid a big price for his unscrupulous actions.

Ballard stood trial and was ultimately convicted of theft and fraud. The presiding judge said that Ballard’s actions “showed a clear pattern of fraud”. It was discovered that he was siphoning money from Maple Leaf Gardens towards his own private holdings.

A CBC report uncovered  that “records show that between 1964 and 1970, a total of $123,000 had been deposited in the private bank account of the dummy company, The Marlborough Athletic Club.” The total sum misappropriated was believed to be $205,000.

Investigations found that Ballard, who owned 80% of the organization, used the company’s earnings for his own, personal use. Funds were diverted from Maple Leafs Gardens, which was a publicly traded company, and used for things such as renovating his Etobicoke home, renovating his Midland cottage, renting limousines, and buying motorcycles for his sons.

Not only was Ballard stealing joy and success from the Maple Leafs for years, but money too. There was a private bank account shared with co-owner Stafford Smythe that was filled with money meant for the Gardens. Smythe died before he could stand trial on charges of fraud.

Ballard pleaded not guilty to all 49 charges and was convicted on all but two of them. The judge sentenced him to nine years in the minimum security Millhaven Institution, a federal penitentiary. Ballard spent just one year in prison, being paroled in 1973.

With a long history, any club has its own scandals. Clearly, the Maple Leafs are no different.