The wait is over for anxious fans (of the team and uniform designs), as the Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled the logo they’ll use for their centennial season in 2016-17.
It may be wrong to truly call it new, as Brendan Shanahan points out that it evokes the team’s storied history.
“As an organization, we wanted to get back to our roots, when Conn Smythe first changed the team logo to the Maple Leaf in 1927 ... ” Shanahan said.
Take a look and share your thoughts:
Sports Logos.net features the team’s history of logos, if you want to see how this compares to previous looks.
The Globe & Mail’s James Mirtle provides the different logos in one useful tweet:
100 years of logos for the Maple Leafs franchise pic.twitter.com/EF2VGGK9ct
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) February 3, 2016
(Pauses for a few “Does Steven Stamkos approve of the new logo?” jokes ...)
A little more from the Leafs:
• The new Maple Leaf has 31 points, a nod to the year 1931 and a defining moment in team history with the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens. The new logo maintains a strong connection to the classic Leafs logo of the past while offering a fresh take on it for the future.
• The new badge contains a total of 17 veins, representing the year the franchise was founded (1917), and includes 13 veins at the top of the crest to commemorate the club’s Stanley Cup Championships.
• The outline, seen in the most recent version of this Maple Leaf from 1963-67, has been removed to create a cleaner, bolder look.
The Maple Leafs will unveil the team’s new uniforms incorporating the logo at the 2016 NHL Draft to be held June 24-25 in Buffalo, New York.
In keeping with past traditions, the Toronto Marlies will also adopt the Maple Leaf’s new mark which will incorporate the historic Marlies crown into the logo.
This is how the Marlies’ version will appear:
This is the official new logo for Maple Leafs and the Marlies for next season. pic.twitter.com/uxZex5mrmX
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) February 3, 2016
The Maple Leafs have unveiled their new logo. #TMLtalk
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 3, 2016
MORE: https://t.co/KRmipfd2uJhttps://t.co/6JxhtUCxaI