Steve Stavro Steve Atanas Stavro , ( September 27 , 1927 - April 24 , 2006 ) , born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas , was a Canadian businessman , grocery store magnate , Thoroughbred racehorse owner / breeder , sports team owner , and a noted philanthropist . Toronto Maple Leafs - Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment . A long - time friend of Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard , Stavro had served as a director of Maple Leaf Gardens since 1981 , and he , Don Giffin , and Don Crump served as the executors of Ballard ' s will following the latter ' s death . Stavro became Chairman of the Board of Maple Leaf Gardens and governor of the Maple Leafs in October 1991 following Ballard ' s death . That year , Stavro paid off a $ 20 million loan that had been made to Ballard in 1980 by Molson . In return , he was given an option to buy Maple Leaf Gardens shares from Ballard ' s estate . Molson also agreed to sell its stake in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd . to Stavro . That deal closed in 1994 , and shortly after Stavro bought Ballard ' s shares from the estate for $ 34 a share or $ 75 million . The purchase was the subject of a securities commission review and a lawsuit from Ballard ' s son Bill , but the deal stood . In contrast to Ballard , Stavro was a somewhat reclusive man who hated the spotlight , and largely left the Maple Leafs in the hands of the hockey operations staff . The first period of success was led by general manager Cliff Fletcher . In 1992 – 93 , the Maple Leafs had their first winning season in 14 years , coming within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals , and again made the Conference Finals the following season . During the tenure of head coach and general manager Pat Quinn from 1999 to 2002 , the team was an annual contender , clinching a Northeast Division title , the first two 100 - point seasons in franchise history , and two Eastern Conference Finals appearances . However , his legacy was somewhat tainted when he vetoed the Fletcher deal for The Great One himself , Wayne Gretzky . Said Gretzky " Toronto was my first choice . It was really where I wanted to go . But Cliff came back and said he had taken it to the owner , and the owner nixed it . " Indeed , who knows what the Leafs may have been able to do with the likes of Mike Gartner , Dave Gagner and Todd Gill , and thus began the dismantling of the team in order to save money , by accepting mediocrity , when the Gardens , and then the Air Canada Centre are sold out every night . Maple Leaf Gardens , Limited was renamed Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in 1996 , with the acquisition of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association after establishing a partnership with Larry Tanenbaum . The partnership enabled the Leafs and Raptors to share the new Air Canada Centre rather than building two separate venues . However , Stavro and Tanenbaum were said to have a poor relationship , as Tanenbaum disputed a report that claimed that Stavro saw him as a favored son . A Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine article also alleged that Stavro would worry about minute details such as hot dogs . The owners ' lounge at the Air Canada Centre was modeled in a Scottish theme with dark wood panels while Stavro was chairman ; his successor Tanenbaum had the room remodeled to a white modernistic style with some insiders saying that the change was made because the old room reminded him too much of Stavro . Stavro was also known in the local Macedonian community to have a friendly competition with fellow Macedonian Mike Ilitch who owned a rival NHL hockey team , the Detroit Red Wings . Stavro ' s Knob Hill Farms sponsored a hockey team in the Metro Junior A League in the 1962 – 63 season . The team and the league folded after the end of the season . Stavro stepped down as Chairman of MLSE in 2003 in favour of Tanenbaum , as part of a restructuring plan that also saw him sell his majority stake to the Ontario Teachers ' Pension Plan . Jim Leech , OTTP Senior Vice President of Private Equity ( also known as the Teachers ' Merchant Bank ) , had orchestrated the deal after the closure of Stavro ' s Knob Hill Farms grocery chain , giving rise to rumours that the financial state of MLSE could also be affected . Stavro received a luxury box as part of the deal , which caused some controversy as several disabled season - ticket holders were displaced without notification .