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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Toronto Maple Leafs history told in a subway map

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It should surprise no one who reads Spacing that I have a bit of an obsession when it comes to maps. And, as my close friends and Spacing editors can attest, I also have a a deep love of the Toronto Maple Leafs (obviously, I like to punish myself).

Before I started Spacing, I had worked as the art director of The Hockey News for five years. The only person I had any influence in hiring during my time there was a great designer named Jamie Hodgson. He took over from me when The Hockey News and I parted ways in 2003, and he was hired away to be the art director of Sportsnet Magazine last summer.

With the current NHL lockout playing havoc with my emotions, I decided to combine my two passions of hockey and map-making by telling the history of the Leafs through a subway map. I approached Hodgson with my idea and the timing worked out perfectly as they were working on a special Maple Leafs publication.

The edition just hit newsstands — The Greatest Leafs of All Time — and the Maple Leaf City Transit Commission subway map appears on the coveted last page of the magazine.

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12 comments

  1. Very clever. Appreciated by non-hockey fans.

  2. I’d think that the Stanley Cup Line should interchange with the respective Captains, Hall of Famers, Coaches, & GMs. But likely very difficult to achieve with clarity.

    The GM line dead ends with Burke… :0

  3. Watch out for Imlach Junction, it’s a doozie.

  4. “Construction of Stanley Cup Line delayed indefinitely”  — Shouldn’t that be “Stanley Cup Line – Abandoned”

  5. I would love to buy that as a poster! Please add this to your list of great spacing products!

  6. Well done! I love the way that none of the other lines connect with, cross, or have anything to do with the Stanley Cup line. I also note that the Coach and GM lines wander all over the place and take users through obscure places that they don’t want to go. Meanwhile, perhaps something special could be done to mark the “Retired Jerseys” stations…

  7. This is neat. I think every team needs an artistic fan to create a map like this for their team — as long as there aren’t any games to use up the time.

  8. Whats worse?… The fact that stanley cup line was discontinued due to lack of ridership.. or that this map of the Maple Leafs is a more extensive Subway system than Toronto’s 🙂