Toronto Ontarios The Toronto Ontarios was a professional team in the National Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915 based in Toronto , Ontario , Canada . They were first named the Tecumseh Hockey Club , renamed the Ontarios in 1913 and renamed the Toronto Shamrocks in January 1915 and ceased operations later that year . Tecumsehs . " See also Toronto Tecumsehs " The NHA was founded in 1909 without any teams from Toronto , Ontario because there wasn ' t an arena in the city that was large enough to sustain a franchise . In 1911 , a new arena was being built in Toronto and a franchise was awarded to the Toronto Hockey Club , and a group affiliated with the Tecumseh Lacrosse Club applied for a second franchise . The Tecumsehs bought a franchise from Ambrose O ' Brien , paying $ 500 cash and promissory notes for $ 2 , 000 . The Tecumsehs were put on the NHA schedule for the 1911 – 12 season with no home games scheduled until late in January , when the arena was expected to be completed . Because of construction delays , it soon became clear that the arena would not be ready in time , and both Toronto teams were removed from the schedule , leaving the NHA with only four teams for the season . Before the 1912 – 13 season started , O ' Brien said that he never received the balance of the franchise fee from the Tecumseh backers , so he re - sold the franchise to a group headed by W . J . Bellingham from Montreal . Goaltender Billy Nicholson , formerly with Montreal HC , was appointed player - manager - captain . The team he put together included future hall - of - famer George McNamara and his brother , Howard McNamara . Teddy Oke , who would go on to be one of the founders of the Canadian Professional Hockey League in 1926 , was also on the team . They played their first game on December 28 , 1912 against the Montreal Wanderers at the arena , which would soon become known as Arena Gardens . The visiting Wanderers won 7 – 4 in front of 5 , 000 fans . Paid attendance of 4 , 339 and gate receipts of $ 3 , 040 both set short - lived Toronto hockey records . The Tecumsehs got off to a good start , but at the end of the season were in last place in the six - team NHA in with seven wins and 13 losses . Ontarios . In 1913 , Tom Wall purchased the bankrupt Tecumsehs and renamed them the Ontarios . The team continued to play in the Arena Gardens . The Tecumsehs had finished sixth in the six - team league , with a record of 7 wins and 13 losses . Despite the addition of 27 - goal scorer Jack McDonald and veteran Ottawa Senators defenceman Fred Lake , the Ontarios fared worse , winning only 4 games and losing 16 , for a . 200 winning percentage . After one season , Wall sold the team to local amateur hockey impresario Eddie Livingstone . Livingstone acquired goaltender Percy LeSueur and forward Skene Ronan . He also added rookies Corb Denneny and Alf Skinner , and the McNamara brothers returned . The team had also acquired NHA scoring champion Tommy Smith before Livingtone took over . A tug of war developed over Smith ' s services . The Pacific Coast Hockey Association claimed Smith was their property ; Livingstone , just as stubbornly , insisted he belonged to Toronto . The PCHA ' s bosses , Lester Patrick and Frank Patrick , threatened they would raid the NHA for players the next season . Shamrocks . After the first game of the season in January 1915 , the team was renamed the Toronto Shamrocks . Livingstone said the idea came from the players because eight members of the team claimed Irish descent . The team colours were kept the same , but the " O " on the jerseys was replaced with a green shamrock . The Shamrocks finished the 1914 – 15 season with a record of 7 wins and 13 losses , fifth in the league , ahead of only the Montreal Canadiens . Meanwhile , Toronto ' s other NHA club , the Toronto Blueshirts , had fallen from first place to fourth . On the west coast , the Patrick brothers announced an expansion team , the Seattle Metropolitans and the PCHA zeroed in on the Blueshirts ' roster , signing many of their top players . Livingstone purchased the Toronto Blueshirts and owned two NHA teams but after the PCHA raids only had enough players for one team . He transferred Shamrocks players to the Blueshirts , and only the Blueshirts competed in the 1915 – 16 NHA season . When Livingstone failed to sell the Shamrocks , the NHA seized the franchise , which was left dormant for the year . The National Hockey Association reactivated the abandoned Shamrocks franchise in 1916 – 17 , awarding it to a Canadian military team , the Toronto 228th Battalion . The league became the National Hockey League the following season and neither of the Toronto NHA franchises were included in the new league . Season by season record . " Note : W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , GF = Goals For , GA = Goals Against "