On Dec. 19, 1917, the Toronto Arenas played in the first game in NHL history.
The Maple Leafs will commemorate that occasion by hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 19, 2017, and they’ll wear some sweet throwback duds to really hammer home how historic the “Next Century Game” will be.
You can see one angle of those sweet sweaters (which will probably make a healthy profit in merchandising), while others tweeted out fuller shots:
Great throwback jersey @MapleLeafs will wear Dec. 19 for their Next Century Game, 100 years to day of 1st NHL game (10-9 L to Mtl Wanderers) pic.twitter.com/oii58eWMX1
— Dave Stubbs 🇨🇦 (@Dave_Stubbs) September 12, 2017
Toronto Mayor John Tory announced that Dec. 19 will also stand as “Toronto Maple Leafs Day,” which called for this great bit, via Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
.@JohnTory says he expects the #leafs to win the Stanley Cup while he's still mayor. Adds: "I hope to get a second term."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) September 12, 2017
So, five years.
Heh, nice.
For way more details about this event, check out the Maple Leafs’ full release.