Top 10 Commercials Starring Toronto Maple Leafs Players

TORONTO, ON - MAY 17: Wayne Gretzky #99 of the Los Angeles Kings skates by Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL semi final series playoff game action on May 17, 1993 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 17: Wayne Gretzky #99 of the Los Angeles Kings skates by Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL semi final series playoff game action on May 17, 1993 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 30: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring . (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 30: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring . (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a great marketing team.

Being a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs comes with some lucrative sponsorship opportunities.

Insurance companies, hockey gear manufacturers, milk and even McDonald’s all want a taste of the marketing push that being associated with one of the most recognizable brands in the sport, or sports in general, can bring.

For the players, it’s a great way for them to offset the losses they incur due to escrow, especially for those with really low cap hits (one of the many reasons why free agents can and should sign here for cheap (wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I’m saying?)

Using the power of YouTube, I’ve tracked down what I believe to be the ten best commercials starring Toronto Maple Leafs players, at least, of the ones that are readily available on video-sharing platforms.

TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 7: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 7: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

10. Sonnet Insurance (Various)

To kick us off, we have these two ads for Sonnet Insurance starring Doug Gilmour, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Zach Hyman, and even Frederik Gauthier.

A fun pair of tongue-in-cheek pokes at how hockey has changed so much about game preparation, player nutrition, and equipment in the last 20 years or so.

Side note: those meatballs that the Legends are digging into in the first video look so good.

9 & 8. Aviva (Frederik Andersen)

Taking the next two slots on our list are these couple of pretty funny commercials staring the Great Dane himself, Freddie Andersen.

The ads speak for themselves, when you want the best protection, go for Fred… unless it’s October.

7. Intact Insurance (Mitch Marner)

Rounding out our trio of insurance advertisements is the series of commercials for Intact starring Mitch Marner, and featuring a cameo appearance from former teammate Matt Martin.

Some parts of this ad fall flat, like the Shakespearean actor, but for Martin’s cameo, and the segment with the kid and the juice box alone, gold star.

SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: Auston Matthews #34 and John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs pose prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 26: Auston Matthews #34 and John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs pose prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

6. Casper (John Tavares)

An effective ad that plays on the seriousness of the Leafs’ current captain. In it, he literally moves into the arena, to the ire of a Zamboni driver named Dave… wait, that sounds familiar.

Ayres jokes aside, most of the sponsorship appearances Tavares has appeared in since his arrival play on his outward seriousness, single-minded focus on the game, or the infamous pajama photo from when he was a kid.

I do want to give an honorable mention to the one commercial that doesn’t utilize any of the Tavares tropes. Anyone who’s watched Hockey Night In Canada has seen it a million and one times by now, and though we might sick of seeing it over and over, you can’t deny that it’s well-made.

5. McDonald’s (Mats Sundin)

We go from the current Toronto Maple Leafs captain to the last great captain, Mats Sundin co-starring in an ad for McDonald’s with The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

I remember seeing this a few times when I was a kid, and it’s just as fun now as I remember, a couple of the greatest players of all time challenging each other to increasingly ridiculous shots.

Somebody should get on remaking this with modern greats like Crosby, McDavid, Mackinnon and Matthews, that’d be amazing.

4. Bauer (Auston Matthews)

I guess in a way, this is a modernized version of the Sundin McDonald’s ad, although this time it’s a commercial for a Bauer stick co-starring Auston Matthews and Jonathan Toews, who completely wreck the “set” of a commercial shoot with trick shot challenges.

I give this the slight leg up on the Sundin one because, although it’s much more grounded in reality, it has an unscripted feel of just some guys having fun and I really admire that approach. Anything that makes the players look less like the soulless robots the mainstream media would have you believe they are.

TORONTO, ON – MAY 17: Wayne Gretzky #99 of the Los Angeles Kings skates by Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – MAY 17: Wayne Gretzky #99 of the Los Angeles Kings skates by Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /

3. Nike (Mats Sundin)

This one is both funny and factual. A Habs goalie overflowing with rage at being unable to stop Mats Sundin and the Maple Leafs in general. It’s also shockingly relevant today, given Matthews’ level of success against Carey Price and the Canadiens.

Habs fans should probably get used to that feeling for a long time.

2. Milk (Doug Gilmour)

Did you know there was a point in Doug Gilmour’s tenure with the Leafs where he was more known for starring in a commercial for milk?

I recently finishing reading Doug’s autobiography, Killer, and was shocked to find out that after starring in this ad in 1994, Gilmour would be spotted out in public by kids and recognized as “the milk guy” rather than “the hockey player.”

Me not being from Ontario also means that I had never seen this ad until I read his book, and just from his description of the shooting process alone, it lives up to the hype.

1. Stand Witness

This is a team-produced promo released leading up to the start of the 2016-17 season, in celebration of the Leafs 100th anniversary. Even though no player appears clearly (although there is a fan edit here that replaces some of the game footage with current players such as William Nylander), the presentation alone, both imagery and voiceover, is enough to send chills up the spine of even the most jaded fan.

What sets this video apart from the others is that it is not trying to sell anything. It was an announcement, from management directly to the homes of everyone in Leafs Nation “The future starts now.”

Next. Top Leafs Snubbed By Hall of Fame. dark

And it was, that season was the start of the turnaround, the beginning of Matthews, Marner and Nylander’s careers in the NHL and the first sign that this team is destined for greatness.

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