Toronto Maple Leafs Officially Announce Prestigious Quarter-Century Team: Source
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their "Quarter-Century" teams on Saturday, highlighting a mix of legendary names and current superstars.
With a prestigious history that spans over a century, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the most profitable, recognized, and accomplished franchises in not only the NHL, but all of professional sports.
A long list of legends have donned the blue and white, finding themselves a part of history as they etched their names in the record books, or the Stanley Cup. Though they didn't find the success of their elder counterparts, the last 25 years of Leafs have seen some incredible names.
Toronto is just another part of the NHL's intention to showcase the best players of their respective teams since the year 2000, and for Leafs fans it's a walk down memory lane.
Let's take a look at each team and how they would line up if time wasn't a factor.
Toronto's Quarter Century Teams Are Stacked
A lot of names have been left off the list in regards to players who have made an impact. Darcy Tucker, Gary Roberts, and Alexander Mogilny were absent showcasing just how dominant the current crop of talent is.
First team sees franchise icon Mats Sundin alongside current captain and face of the franchise Auston Matthews. Mitch Marner adds the speediness to the wing as Sundin would play a more power forward role, using his length and size to control the ice.
On the back end we see Tomas Kaberle and Morgan Rielly, and while both men are a fantastic pair of offensive defensemen, it's a bit perplexing to see Bryan McCabe not beside his years-long linemate.
Eddie the Eagle takes control of the crease for the Maple Leafs and although he was toward the end of his career with the team, he made an impact in the few years he played.
The second team is full of character as you see polarizing forward Phil Kessel skating with John Tavares and William Nylander, giving #91 two of the team's best goal-scorers that could benefit from his playmaking.
Lining up for defense is quite possibly the most intimidating duo Toronto could put out, lining up Bryan McCabe with Dion Phaneuf. Both men deliver crushing hits, booming slapshots, and don't mind getting into a few scraps.
The beloved Curtis Joseph takes the crease for the second unit and would be able to give Toronto not only stability in net, but provide some pretty wild highlight reel saves.
The group of players selected shows that Toronto has had a rich history in legends and the fact they can only narrow down the list to these names gives credence to just how incredible they were.
| POLL | ||
Which team do you think is better for Toronto's quarter-century selection? | ||
