Maple Leafs News: New Logo and the Marlies

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It has been an extremely quiet past few days. The only hockey on the schedule was the NHL All-Star game, which took place on Nashville. That brought us many memorable moments, many of which came from John Scott, who definitely made the best of the weekend.

Now that regular games are back and scheduled, it is time to focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs once again. The management will have a ton on their plate to focus on as the trade deadline inches ever closer. The debate of which players will be traded will be foremost in their minds, but there are also other issues that deserve some attention. We focus on those below.

New Logo

The Maple Leafs are about to enter their 100th NHL season. The only other team in the NHL who has already surpassed their centennial year is the Montreal Canadiens. They did numerous promotions and special events throughout their season, and the Maple Leafs will more likely then not follow suit and do the same.

There has also been talk of a new logo, which will be revealed tonight at  9:30 p.m after their game against the Boston Bruins. The announcement has many wondering what the new logo will look like. The sacred Maple Leaf has stayed largely intact since the 1970’s. The big question will be if it is a completely new design, or if it is a simple throwback to an earlier design.

Article update. This is what the new logo looks like.

Marlies Continue to Roll

Sporting a record of 36-8-3 for 75 points, the Toronto Marlies continue to be the hottest team in the American Hockey League. The Marlies definitely have some skill this year as referenced by William Nylander, Josh Leivo and T.J. Brennan, who all participated in the All-Star game.

There are also three current Marlies in the top 20 in AHL scoring. Defenseman, T.J. Brennan, is first with a whopping 47 points, Mark Arcobello is fourth with 42 and William Nylander sits 17th with 35 points.

The Marlies have also benefitted from receiving a couple of players back from injury. Nylander was out with a concussion sustained at the World Juniors. He cleared the protocol back in Toronto, but then hit another setback in the form of appendicitis which kept him out a couple more days.

Connor Brown also made a triumphant return to the line-up recently. After a nasty ankle injury sidelined him for a couple months, Brown was able to lace up the skates against the Utica Comets. The Marlies won that game by a 7-1 score with Brown potting a couple goals.

This team has a legitimate chance at a deep postseason run this year. They have many talented players and were able to stay at the top of the standings when both Brown, who led the AHL in rookie scoring last year, and Nylander, who was dealing with a  concussion, were out of the roster. It’s a combination of the players and new coach, Sheldon Keefe, and the Marlies are rolling through the AHL.

There are many bright spots on the team and it will be interesting to see if any players receive a call from the big club to help fill a void left by possible departing players after the trade deadline.