Toronto Maple Leafs: Thoughts On Alternate Jerseys

The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a true alternate jersey.

There are teams across the NHL that have third jerseys. The Arizona Coyotes, the Anaheim Ducks, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Edmonton Oilers, the New York Islanders, the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia Flyers, the St. Louis Blues and the Vancouver Canucks all have announced that they will have an alternate jersey this year.

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t formally announced an alternate jersey. While there is no announcement, Leafs fans have grown accustom to seeing the Maple Leafs wear the Toronto St. Patricks jerseys around St. Patrick’s Day.

In addition, the Toronto Maple Leafs have worn some other jerseys in the past few years, but none have been a staple. Last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs wore their old Toronto Arenas jerseys for their one hundred year anniversary game, in which they played the Carolina Hurricanes on home ice.

Over the last few years, they’ve worn a special Canadian Navy inspired jersey for the Stadium Series in Annapolis, a jersey for the Centennial Classic at BMO Field and a Winter Classic jersey for the January 1, 2014 match-up versus the Detroit Red Wings at the Big House. Unfortunately, these jerseys have only been worn once.

Perhaps, it’s time for a change. If the Toronto Maple Leafs announce an alternate jersey for the 2018-2019 regular season, not only can they make a tremendous amount in revenue on jersey sales but they play homage to their history as well.

The Alternate Jersey

Before I continue, I just want to say that if the Toronto Maple Leafs do decide to have an alternate jersey, the team should still wear the Toronto St. Pats jerseys on March 15th when they host the Philadelphia Flyers. While it would be awesome to see an alternate jersey, it shouldn’t mean that the organization sacrifices the St. Pats jersey. The St. Pats jersey recognizes not only Irish Canadians but both the citizens of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Irish have made many sizable contributions to not just their homeland but to Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and every country around the globe.

If an alternate jersey is the plan, there are many different ways that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ marketing team can choose to go with for the alternate jersey.

If I were the Chief Marketing Officer at Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment, I would look to use a similar design to what the Maple Leafs used in the Winter Classic.

I would then put a Toronto Arenas patch on one sleeve and a Toronto St. Patricks patch on the other. By doing so, the Toronto Maple Leafs organization can honour those teams from 1917-1927, which brought home two Stanley Cup championships.

Additionally, I would want to honour the players who had their numbers retired by the franchise. You could have the numbers on the white stripe underneath the Toronto Maple Leafs crest. With the numbers on the front of the jersey, the team would be remembering players including Mats Sundin, Turk Broda, Johnny Bower, Red Kelly, Tim Horton, King Clancy, Borje Salming and the others. Every retired number symbolizes the hard-work and perseverance that these iconic players brought to the game of hockey. They all made sizable contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs history and should be honoured.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t officially announced if there will be an alternate jersey, it is fun to think of the possibilities. If the franchise does decide to unveil an alternate, my hope is that they will honour the history of the club in a tasteful way.

research from wikipedia.com