The Torontos' players were leased to the Arena ownership temporarily and competed in the NHL in 1917–18, winning the Stanley Cup.

The Arena Company was then granted a permanent franchise for the 1918–19 season that evolved into today's Toronto Maple Leafs.

[1] The franchise which became the Toronto Hockey Club was bought by Frank Robinson, Percy Quinn and other investors for CA$2,000.

[3] Other books quote O'Brien as selling the Canadiens to George Kennedy, leaving the case of which franchise was sold to Robinson unresolved.

The first manager was Toronto native and former Ottawa Senators player Bruce Ridpath, who had intended to be a playing-coach but was no longer able to play due to an injury suffered when he was struck by an automobile the previous year.

The Toronto Hockey Club was owned by Quinn, managed by Ridpath, and initially coached by Tom Humphrey who was soon replaced by player-coach Jack Marshall.

Despite the changes, the Torontos won the Stanley Cup in 1914, defeating the Montreal Canadiens in a playoff to decide the NHA champion.

PCHA president Frank Patrick had not filed a challenge, because he had expected Emmett Quinn of the NHA to make all of the arrangements in his role as hockey commissioner, whereas the trustees thought they were being deliberately ignored.

[8] Robinson received two offers for the club; the McNamara brothers and Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Shamrocks.

According to authors Morey Holzman and Joseph Nieforth, this strongly suggested a deal had been made between Livingstone, Robinson and the Patricks.

The Torontos, composed mostly of former Shamrock players, skated to a record of 9 wins, 14 losses and 1 tie in the 1915–16 NHA season, finishing in last place in the five-team league.

Tempers boiled over when the NHA added a second Toronto team in 1916–17, representing the 228th Battalion of the Canadian army.

They also needed a fourth team to balance the schedule due to the Quebec Bulldogs' decision to sit out the season.

[13] At the time, Frank Calder, the NHL president, was demanding that the Arena Company and Livingstone come to an agreement to transfer the franchise.

[14] Additionally, the team wore a white sweater with a blue "T," the same uniform worn by the Blueshirts in the previous season.

Led by general manager Charlie Querrie and coach Dick Carroll, the team won the Stanley Cup in 1918.

The Arena Company had originally promised to return the Toronto players to Livingstone if no transfer could be arranged.

[15] This new franchise was separated from the Arena Company because it was due money to Livingstone from the players and the Stanley Cup revenues (fixed later by court at $20,000).

However, the team had a dismal five-win season and was forced to suspend operations in February, and blamed Livingstone for interference.

[17] Despite the ties to the Torontos, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts' history as their own (unlike the Canadiens, the other NHL franchise with NHA roots).