The Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league which operated primarily in Ontario and Quebec from 1959 to 1963. It had its roots in the Quebec Hockey League which was down to three teams in 1959, The Quebec Aces transferred to the American Hockey League (AHL) but the AHL turned down the Montreal Royals because they did not want a team in a National Hockey League (NHL) vity. The Toronto Maple Leafs were never fully involved because they felt that the league infringed on their territory.