New Logo Means Change Is In Full Force For Maple Leafs

By Alex Hobson

Being a Leafs fan was probably one of the hardest things for somebody to do over the last 30 or so years. The team could not find a way to win, and they could not find a way to win no matter how many new players, new coaches, or new management they brought in. They finally thought they had it back in 2008 when they hired Brian Burke as GM, someone who was impatient and had a true desire to win. He traded for Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, Joffrey Lupul among others and thought that he had built a playoff core.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

The Leafs failed to make the playoffs each year during Burke's tenure as GM, and the Leafs didn't change their ways despite one minor playoff appearence in 2013 (of which they blew a three goal lead in the third period to Boston). Burke was fired and Dave Nonis was brought in as GM, but nothing changed. The Leafs found a way to collapse every season around February/March, so when president Brendan Shanahan was brought in, change was bound to come.

At the end of the 2014-15 season, Shanahan blew up the organization. He fired Nonis, interim head coach Peter Horachek, and over 20 scouts. He then hired highly touted coach Mike Babcock that May, and brought in management legend Lou Lamoriello to serve as GM. Meanwhile, assistant GM Kyle Dubas and director of player personnel Mark Hunter were working magic at the draft, selecting skilled forward Mitch Marner with the fourth overall pick and turning a late first round pick into two seconds and a third rounder, which seemed odd at the time but nobody was complaining when they ended up with Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco and Martins Dzierkals.

All in all, change was inevitable for a franchise that had failed to win a Stanley Cup in 49 years, and Shanahan knew that. Not only did they hire staff that knew more about the game and that skill over size was always a better option, but they also began to build their future team through the draft rather than through trades and signings. A culture change was needed, and it was beginning to work.

Midway through the 2015-16 season, everything was going according to plan. Their prospects such as William Nylander and Mitch Marner were developing in the AHL and CHL while veterans on one year contracts were playing for the Leafs.

Then Shanahan shocked the hockey world.

He announced that after 46 years of the current Leafs logo, they would be changing it along with the jerseys. Lots of Leafs fans were upset to hear this, many thought that it meant they would be getting rid of the Maple Leaf all around. Of course, this wasn't true. and On episode five of The Leaf, aired on TSN4 on February 2nd, 2016, the new logo was unveiled.



So now the Leafs have new faces, a new drafting style, new culture, and finally, a new logo. So what does it all mean?

It means that the Leafs finally came through with their word that there would be change. They are trying to do it the right way, and if everything goes according to plan, the Leafs could very well see a return to the face of the hockey world in the near future.

Remember when Mike Babcock said "we need to put Canada's team back on the map"?

It's all part of a process. And that process is in full force.