1931 – 32 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1931 – 32 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto ' s fifteenth season in the NHL . The Maple Leafs were coming off their best regular season in team history in 1930 – 31 , and the club set team records in wins and points , with 23 and 53 respectively , finishing in second place in the Canadian Division . Toronto then won three playoff rounds to win the Stanley Cup , first as the Maple Leafs , and third in the history of the franchise . Offseason . Prior to the season , the NHL announced that the schedule would increase from 44 games to 48 . Also , the Maple Leafs announced they were moving from the Arena Gardens , which had been their home since entering the NHL in 1917 , to the newly constructed Maple Leaf Gardens . Regular season . Toronto would start the season off slowly , going winless in their first 5 games , which cost head coach Art Duncan his job . The Leafs would hire former Chicago Black Hawks head coach Dick Irvin , and the move would pay off immediately , as the Leafs would get hot and have a 9 – 3 – 2 record in his first 14 games behind the bench . The Leafs continued to play good hockey for the remainder of the season , finishing with a team record 23 victories , and tying the club record with 53 points . Toronto finished in second place in the Canadian Division , behind the Montreal Canadiens , and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season . The Leafs offense was led by Busher Jackson , who led the NHL with 53 points , as he scored 28 goals and added 25 assists in 48 games . Linemate Joe Primeau led the league with 37 assists , and finished second to Jackson in league scoring with 50 points , while Charlie Conacher posted an NHL high 34 goals , and finished fourth in league scoring with 48 points . Defenceman King Clancy anchored the blueline , scoring 10 goals and 19 points , while Red Horner provided the team toughness , getting a club high 97 penalty minutes . In goal , Lorne Chabot had another very solid season , winning a team high 22 game while posting a 2 . 36 GAA , and earning 4 shutouts along the way . Maple Leaf Gardens . The Gardens was built by Leafs managing director Conn Smythe in a six - month period during 1931 at a cost of $ 1 . 5 million . The site was purchased from The T . Eaton Co . Ltd . for a price said to be $ 150 , 000 below market value . The building was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald . W . A . Hewitt , sports editor of the Toronto Star , was hired as general manager to oversee all events other than professional hockey . His son , Foster Hewitt , was hired to run the radio broadcasts . Construction was partly funded through a public offering of 7 % preferred shares in Maple Leaf Gardens Limited at $ 10 each ( about $ 117 in 2006 ) , with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased . Smythe and the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club Ltd . transferred ownership of the hockey team to the new corporation in return for shares in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd . The contract to construct the building was awarded to Thomson Brothers Construction of Port Credit in Toronto Township . Thomson Bros bid just under $ 990 , 000 for the project , the lowest of ten tenders received , mainly due to the fact that amongst the Thomson Brothers ' various enterprises they had much of the sub contract work covered , others could not compete in this manner . That price did not include steel work , which was estimated at an additional $ 100 , 000 . Construction began at midnight on June 1 , 1931 . In what is to this day considered to be an unparalleled accomplishment the Gardens was built in under five months and two weeks . The Gardens opened on November 12 , 1931 , with the Maple Leafs losing 2 – 1 to the Chicago Black Hawks . Reported attendance on opening night was 13 , 542 , which was about 1 , 500 below capacity . The Leafs would go on to win their first Stanley Cup that season . Playoffs . The Maple Leafs would open the playoffs against the Chicago Black Hawks in a two game , total goal series . The Black Hawks had a record of 18 – 19 – 11 , earning 47 points , and finished in second place in the American Division . The Leafs dropped the opening game by a close 1 – 0 score at Chicago Stadium , however , they returned home for the second game , and Toronto easily defeated the Black Hawks 6 – 1 , and won the total goal series by a score of 6 – 2 , advancing to the second round of the playoffs . Toronto ' s next opponent was the Montreal Maroons in another two game , total goal series . The Maroons finished behind Toronto in the Canadian Division , as they finished with a 19 – 22 – 7 record , registering 43 points . The Maroons defeated the Detroit Falcons in the opening round of the playoffs . The series opened at the Montreal Forum , and the game ended in a 1 – 1 tie . The second game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens , and Toronto used home ice to their advantage , defeating the Maroons 3 – 2 in overtime to win the series 4 – 3 , and move to the Stanley Cup finals . The Leafs would play the New York Rangers in a best of 5 series to determine the winner of the 1932 Stanley Cup Finals . The Rangers finished in first place in the American Division with a 23 – 17 – 8 record , earning 54 points . They had defeated the Montreal Canadiens in four games to advance to the finals . The series opened at Madison Square Garden in New York , however , it was the Leafs who struck first , defeating the Rangers 6 – 4 . The second game of the series was moved from New York to the Boston Garden due to the circus having been booked for the Rangers home arena . Toronto took full advantage of this , and easily defeated the Rangers 6 – 2 to come within a victory of the Stanley Cup . The series moved to Toronto for the third game , and Toronto completed the sweep , defeating New York 6 – 4 , and winning their third Stanley Cup in team history , and first since 1922 , when they were still named the Toronto St . Pats . The " Kid Line " of Jackson , Conacher , and Primeau combined for 8 goals in the 3 games .