Maple Leafs fans are known by the collective nickname "Leafs Nation," which the club uses on its website. Maple Leafs home games have long been one of the toughest tickets to acquire in Canada, even during lean periods.^[10] The Leafs, along with the Minnesota Wild, currently have the longest sellout streaks in the NHL. As of 2007, there was a waiting list of about 6,000 names for season tickets.^[11] Earlier, they sold out every game at Maple Leaf Gardens from 1946 until the building closed in 1999.^[12] With an average of US$1.9 million per game, the Leafs had the highest average ticket revenue per game in the 2007–08 season; the previous season they earned about $1.5 million per game.^[13]

Conversely, there is an equally passionate dislike of the team by fans of several other NHL teams. In November 2002, the Leafs were named by Sports Illustrated hockey writer Michael Farber as the "Most Hated Team in Hockey."^[14] Leafs fans are also known for being loyal despite being treated poorly — in a 2008 survey by ESPN The Magazine on rewarding fans, the Leafs were ranked 121st out of the 122 professional teams in the Big Four leagues. Teams were graded by stadium experience, ownership, player quality, ticket affordability, championships won and "bang for the buck"; in particular, the Leafs came last in ticket affordability.^[15]

In the United States, several cities in the Sun Belt have sizable numbers of Leaf fans, as many Snowbirds tend to flock to locales such as Phoenix, Tampa Bay, and Miami during the winter, resulting in a boost in turnout and ticket sales when these franchises play the Maple Leafs.