Toronto’s first Stanley Cup-winning team was the Blueshirts, and that club was initially founded as the original Montreal Canadiens franchise. Toronto’s first Stanley Cup-winning team was the Blueshirts, a hockey club that began its life as the original Montreal Canadiens franchise.
They were part of a league called the National Hockey Association and played in Montreal until a legal dispute over ownership of the name led to a shake-up. A new Montreal Canadiens team was formed – and still exists today – while the original franchise was sold and re-formed as the Toronto Blueshirts. In 1914, the Toronto club beat the new Canadiens for our city’s first ever Stanley Cup.