Is the Battle of Ontario still a rivalry?

Tonight, the Ottawa Senators will open their season against the Toronto Maple Leafs for the ninth time in the franchise’s history. Whenever these two teams meet, it is almost always referred to as the ‘Battle of Ontario,' but what that phrase actually means can vary from fan to fan. For some Senators fans, it brings back nostalgic memories of Daniel Alfredsson, Darcy Tucker, and Chris Neil playing in front of seas of red and blue.

For others, that rivalry mostly exists through Instagram and YouTube highlight reels, as it has been rather tame as of late. That changed for the newer generation when the two teams finally met again in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, ending a drought between these two provincial and national capital teams that spanned just over two decades. With beloved Senators captain teaming up with friend (but on-ice foe) Mats Sundin and crossing enemy lines to join head coach Jim Hiller’s team in Toronto, what is the current state of the battle across Highway 401?

A trip down memory lane

To get the true picture of what this rivalry was all about, we have to take a trip back to the early 2000s. Between 2000 and 2005, the Senators and Leafs met four times in the post-season. The average Leaf fan will never pass up an opportunity to remind Senators fans that Toronto won each of those series. To add insult to injury, this was all during a time period when the Senators iced one of their most impressive rosters with the likes of Jason Spezza, Patrick Lalime, and Wade Redden. What made the rivalry so fun to watch was the heated moments on the ice between the stars and heavy hitters, including Alfredsson’s fake stick toss, mocking Sundin’s suspension-inducing act.

Once these playoff series ended, so did the packed arenas, the boos, the banter, and the roar. To some, the ‘Battle of Ontario’ had lost its battlefield. This was mainly due to the fact that the two teams left the battle on two different trajectories. Ottawa remained a robust contender with 113 points in 2005-2006, a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2007, and a couple more playoff appearances, while the Maple Leafs missed the post-season completely. Once the Auston Matthews era began in Toronto, the tides also began to turn in favour of the blue and white. After Ottawa’s surprising ‘Hamburglar’ run to a Game 7 double-overtime Eastern Conference Final match in 2017, the team collapsed and began to rebuild while the Leafs had a near decade of consistent playoff hockey. The rivalry was alive and well when the teams were both competing, but with an unfair playing field, it lost the spark. 

Won the battle but lost the war

When the Senators and Maple Leafs met in the playoffs again in 2025, history repeated itself, and the confidence amongst both fanbases tried to reignite the battle with some hard-hitting facts. Toronto is now 5-0 in playoff series against the Senators. However, fans in the nation’s capital know that if we look at the regular season statistics, Ottawa enters this coming season with an all-time record of 79 wins, 56 losses, and 16 ties, overtime losses, and shootout losses against Toronto. One can say that Ottawa has won plenty of battles, but so far, Toronto has won every war.

In recent years, both teams have similar parallels. Whether it is trading a star player to a state with no income tax or drafting and developing a young and talented roster, the two teams are providing some ammunition for a new rivalry. The Battle of Ontario doesn't need to look like how it did in the early 2000s. After years of holding onto old memories (and repeated heartbreak), this next generation, led by Matthews, Gavin McKenna, Tim Stützle, and Jake Sanderson, finally has a rivalry of its own. The next chapter begins tonight at Scotiabank Arena.

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