<< In saying that you're the second most successful in terms of championship you're correct but that's not saying all that much given there was only 6 teams and hockey wasn't that big of a deal in the states. >>
I was referring to the succes of Canada as a whole, not specifically Toronto. The fact that we we were even around in the original 6 teams says something. More then half od those original six teams were Canadian. And there may have been a limited number of teams but nonetheless the two most successful teams of all time are Canadian.
How many players in the NHL are Canadian? An awful lot.
Pretty impressive given that Canada is quite a bit smaller then the US population wise.
Remember the 'Canada Cup'?
There's a reason it was called the 'Canada' Cup instead of the 'World' Cup, or US Cup.
In the Olympics the Canadian Mens and Womens teams both have long been successful. Compare that to Baseball, Soccer, or Basketball... Canada is minimal in all of those. Hockey we've always been near or at the top despite a smaller population then many of the other first world countries.
Look at the most famed hockey series of all time... Canada yet again. The 1972 Summit series, Canada vs. The Soviet Union.
Where is the Hockey Hall of Fame? That's right, it's in Canda.
Relatively speaking Hockey is bigger in Canda then anywhere else in the world, Canada has a longer histopry in Hockey then any other country in the world. Canada is the most successful country in the world in Hockey success on a world wide stage.
So yes, I'd say I'm justified in saying that Canada is pretty much the hockey capital of the world.