It's referring to the fact that Ontario and Quebec were Upper and Lower Canada, and as the country grew, things to the "West" and "East" were seen in that light, even though it doesn't make sense centuries later.
Sports leagues mirror those commmon conceptions. Toronto is always put in the East alignment of pro sports leagues. Apart from a rough patch for the CFL in the 1980s when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were moved over to the East, they and the Jets have always been in the West.
The Leafs were in the West. LA beat them in the '93 conference finals after the infamous Gretzky high stick, they would have played the Canadiens in the finals that year. They lost in the '94 conference finals to the Canucks.
I forgot about that! They were in the Central Division of the Campbell Conference, which was renamed the Western Conference the next year, and didn't return to the Eastern until 1998-99.
My little grey cells don't seem to store Leafs info well. Oh, did you hear? Bill Barilko disappeared. He was on a fishing trip.
