Photo Gallery: Canada's best sports moments of 2017

The Maple Leafs kicked off 2017 with a thrilling overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic at BMO Field on New Years Day. (Frank Gunn/CP)

Chris Pronger’s hit on Justin Bieber at NHL All-Star Weekend made for an all-time great photo. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)

With his dual moguls victory on Feb. 4, Mikael Kingsbury earned his 58th World Cup podium to surpass French legend Edgar Grospiron for the most of all time. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Alex Harvey celebrates with a little air guitar after taking home gold in the 50-kilometre freestyle race at the 2017 cross-country skiing world championships, becoming the first North American do so since 1925. (Nils Petter Nilsson/Getty Images)

Montreal beat Calgary to win its fourth Clarkson Cup title, avenging its championship loss from the season prior. (Photo via caroouellette13/Instagram)

The Raptors made a splash ahead of the NBA trade deadline, acquiring Serge Ibaka from the Magic on Feb. 14. The big man didn’t take long to make his presence felt, throwing punches with Chicago’s Robin Lopez during a game in March. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

DeMar DeRozan had another all-star season with the Raptors, punctuated by an epic slam late in Toronto’s Game 6 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to send the Raptors to the second round, where they were swept by the Cavaliers. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The Maple Leafs rewarded their long-suffering fans by making it to the post-season for the first time in 12 seasons. Nobody captured the excitement better than “Dart Guy.” (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)

Although the Leafs were eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals, Auston Matthews showed why there’s reason to believe that better days are ahead. (Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

Led by the electrifying Connor McDavid, the Oilers also ended a lengthy playoff drought and came within one game of reaching the Western Conference final. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Connor McDavid may have lost on the ice, but he won the Internet thanks to this wonderfully awkward airport photo. (@MargeauxMorin/Twitter)

Nobody expected the Senators to be the last Canadian team standing, let alone to come within a goal of reaching the Stanley Cup final. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

The Stanley Cup may have stayed in the U.S., but it did spend some more time in Cole Harbour, N.S., thanks to another MVP playoff performance by Sidney Crosby. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

It doesn’t make up for the Stanley Cup, but a hockey team from Ontario did win a big game against a team from Pennsylvania as the Windsor Spitfires upset the Erie Otters in the Memorial Cup final. (Aaron Bell/CHL Images)

The 18-year-old became the youngest rookie to reach the podium in Formula One when he placed third at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. (Photo by Robert Szaniszló/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

After a breakout season in 2016, Brooke Henderson earned a pair of titles in her follow-up campaign, including this one in New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Get to know the name R.J. Barrett. The 17-year-old phenom led his country to a stunning win over the U.S. and Italy at the under-19 World Cup to give Canada its first-ever world basketball title. (Photo by Sam Forencich)

Kylie Masse had a summer to remember, setting a new world record in the 100-metre backstroke. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Perhaps no Canadian athlete left a bigger impression this summer than Denis Shapovalov, who beat Rafael Nadal on home soil in one of the most impressive performances of the year. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

The 2017 season was an utter disappointment for the Blue Jays, but there were still some good moments. Like Steve Pearce hitting a pair of walk-off grand slams four days apart… (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

… and Marcus Stroman’s career-year, which included a legendary opposite field home run against the Braves. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The 2017 season ended on an emotional note, as longtime Blue Jay Jose Bautista bid farewell to Toronto. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

In September, Toronto hosted its first ever Invictus Games, a multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick armed service personnel that was started by Prince Harry. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)

After returning to action in late 2016, the Olympic champion ice dancers dominated in 2017, capped by a world-record score at the Skate Canada International in Regina. (Photo credit: GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Speaking of comebacks, Georges St-Pierre was victorious in his return to the Octagon after a four-year layoff, beating Michael Bisping to win the middleweight title. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Calgary was once again the best team on the field — and in the makeup department — during the CFL regular season. (Amber Bracken/CP

The Stamps may have been the best team in the regular season,
but the Argonauts won when it mattered most. (Nathan Denette/CP)

Toronto prevailed over Calgary in a thrilling and snowy Grey Cup final. (Paul Chiasson/CP)

A few weeks after the Argonauts won a championship, Jozy Altidore helped bring another title to Toronto. (Photograph by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It’s only fitting that TFC capped off the best season in MLS history by hoisting the trophy in front of their home fans. (Nathan Denette/CP)

Canada took down another record in December, as Ted-Jan Bloemen skated his way to a world-best time in men’s 5,000m long track. (Photo by Alex Goodlett – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

The Ottawa skip finished off a dominant season that also included a world championship by winning the Canadian Olympic curling trials in her hometown. (Adrian Wyld/CP)

Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto put together one of the most incredible season ever by a Canadian and was rewarded by being named the Lou Marsh winner as Canada’s top athlete. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In frigid conditions, the Ottawa Senators beat the rival Montreal Canadiens in the NHL 100 Classic. (Photo by Francois Laplante/Getty Images/Freestyle Photo)

Canada and the U.S. played the first ever world junior outdoor game, with the Americans rallying for a shootout victory in brutal conditions. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images)