The Kid Line was an NHL line for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1930s. It included Charlie Conacher, Harvey "Busher" Jackson and Joe Primeau. [1] When they first came together as a line in late 1929, Primeau was the oldest at 23 years old, while Jackson and Conacher were both 18. All three players are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. All but Primeau was born in Toronto but they all grew up in the city.
Maple Leafs coach Conn Smythe, put the line together, and it helped the Maple Leafs win the 1932 Stanley Cup and lead the Leafs to four more Stanley Cup finals appearances over the next six years. This original line has been featured in a children's book called The Kid Line. [2]
The title was reused as a reference to the Adam Graves, Joe Murphy, and Martin Gelinas lines of the 1990s Edmonton Oilers, and resurrected for Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, and Robert Nilsson starting in 2007-08. [3]
More recently, the title have been used as a reference to other lines, like the Edmonton Oilers - Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, starting in 2011-12. [4] the Montreal Canadiens - Alex Galchenyuk, Lars Eller and Brendan Gallagher starting in 2013-14., [5] the New York islanders - Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, and Anders Lee, and the New York Rangers -Alexis Lafrenière, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil in 2021-2022
Francis William Mahovlich is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a former Liberal Senator in the Canadian Senate. He played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams and is an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Mahovlich was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Mahovlich was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. His brother Peter also played in the NHL. His nickname is "The Big M".
Alfred Joseph Francis "Gentleman Joe" Primeau, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player.
Francis Joseph Aloysius Selke was a Canadian professional ice hockey executive in the National Hockey League. He was a nine-time Stanley Cup champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens and a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee.
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros were a farm team to the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of the dominant junior teams in history, winning seven Memorial Cup championships. The senior team competed for the Stanley Cup in 1904, and won the Allan Cup in 1950. After decline from the late 1970s, the sale of the franchise, and a move away from Toronto, it became the Guelph Storm 1991.
Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP, nicknamed "The Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. His first passion was Canadian football; he was a member of the 1921 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts. He was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team that won the International League championship in 1926. In hockey, he won a Memorial Cup in 1920, and the Stanley Cup twice: with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1934 and the Montreal Maroons in 1935. Additionally, he won wrestling, boxing and lacrosse championships during his playing career. He is one of three players, including Joe Miller and Carl Voss, to have their names engraved on both the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup.
Theodore Samuel "Teeder" Kennedy was a professional ice hockey centre who played his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1943 to 1957 and was captain for eight seasons. Along with Turk Broda, he was the first player in NHL history to win five Stanley Cups, and he was the last Maple Leaf to win the Hart Trophy for most valuable player, until Auston Matthews in 2022. He was an essential contributor to the Maple Leafs becoming what many consider as the National Hockey League's first dynasty. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. He has been called the quintessential Maple Leaf and by some the greatest player in the team's history. In 2017 Kennedy was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans in the National Hockey League. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful shot and goal scoring. He led the NHL five times in goals, and twice led in overall scoring. Over five seasons from 1931-32 to 1935-36 Conacher was named to three NHL First All-Star Teams and two NHL Second All-Star Teams. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2013, Charlie Conacher was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017 Conacher was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Ralph Harvey Jackson was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Jackson played 15 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons between 1929 and 1944 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Americans, and Boston Bruins. He was a member of the Maple Leafs' famed Kid Line with Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher, one of the early NHL's dominant scoring trios. Jackson led the league in scoring in 1931–32 and was a member of Toronto's 1932 Stanley Cup championship team. He was named to five NHL All-Star teams and played in three benefit All-Star Games, including the Ace Bailey Benefit Game, the first All-Star contest in NHL history.
The 1950–51 NHL season was the 34th season of the National Hockey League. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to one for the Stanley Cup to win their fifth Cup in seven years.
The 1929–30 NHL season was the 13th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The Montreal Canadiens upset the heavily favoured Boston Bruins two games to none in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The 1934–35 NHL season was the 18th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nine teams each played 48 games. The Montreal Maroons were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in three games in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The 1935–36 NHL season was the 19th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The St. Louis Eagles dropped out of the league, leaving eight teams. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Cecil Graham "Ceece" Dillon was an American-Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Stanley Cup in 1933 with the New York Rangers against the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one on April 13, 1933.
Philip Lawrence Samis was an ice hockey defenceman. He played two regular season games in the National Hockey League during the 1949–50 season and five playoff games in 1948, when he won the Stanley Cup, all with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1947 to 1953, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League. Samis was the last surviving member of the Maple Leafs 1948 Stanley Cup team.
The 1932 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-five series between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto would win the series in three straight to win their first Stanley Cup as the Maple Leafs.
The 1934 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings. It was the Red Wings' first appearance in the Finals, and Chicago's second, after 1931. The Black Hawks won the best-of-five series 3–1 to win their first Stanley Cup.
The 1951 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs won the series 4–1, with all five games going into overtime. It was the Toronto franchise's ninth Stanley Cup win and the last in a series of six wins starting in 1942. It was the first appearance in a string of ten consecutive appearances by the Canadiens.
The 1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 15th 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.
The 1932–33 New York Rangers season was the franchise's seventh season. In the regular season, the Rangers finished third in the American Division with a 23–17–8 record. New York qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 8–5 in the quarter-finals and the Detroit Red Wings 6–3 in the semi-finals to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the fourth time in franchise history. In the Cup Finals, New York defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, three games to one to win the second Stanley Cup in New York Rangers history.
The 1937–38 NHL season was the 21st season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eight teams each played 48 games. The Chicago Black Hawks were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals.