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The Maple Leafs will be sporting a new-old look on the ice in the next couple of years, a slightly altered version of their current sweater for next season and a new classic third jersey in the works for 2011-12.
Icethetics, a site dedicated to news about National Hockey League fashion, listed the Leafs among 11 teams making changes to their sweaters in the coming year. There is speculation the Leafs will go back to stripes at the base of the sweater and restore some form of the shoulder patch that disappeared a couple of years ago.
Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and COO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. would not comment on changes for next season, but confirmed the third jersey is on the way the year after.
“The 1963 jersey has been in use for a number of years,” Anselmi noted. “The great thing with historic third jerseys is they never become obsolete, even if the team stops wearing them for a while. We are looking at going to another ‘historic’ third.”
Starting in 1992-93, after two decades of mostly disappointing results with the so-called Harold Ballard logo, the Leafs began interspersing it with the version most older fans identified with during the first three of their four Stanley Cups in the 1960s. That coincided with a trip to the conference final the first year. They kept the classic Leaf on the shoulder and later gave it a TML touch-up, before dropping it recently.
Icethetics says home, road and third jersey changes are coming for teams such as Buffalo (about to celebrate its 40th season), Anaheim, Calgary, Columbus, Dallas, Nashville, both New York teams, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (entering a new rink in 2010-11).
lance.hornby@sunmedia.ca
