Toronto Maple Leafs Officially Name Dion Phaneuf Captain, Unveil New Jerseys

The Toronto Maple Leafs waited two years to name a new captain after Mats Sundin was the last to lead the team. Dion Phaneuf has been named the new Captain, and signifies the dramatic change that has taken place to the Leafs lineup since Brian Burke started to build his team. Leafs Nation would never have guessed two years ago that Phaneuf would be leaving Calgary for Toronto, and after only 26 games played is now the team leader.

“It is a tremendous honour to be here,” said Phaneuf. “My plan is to be myself. Winning hockey games is what we need to do we have a lot of work to do. ... We have a good team and a lot to be excited about.”

“We never felt we needed a captain. We needed the right person,” said GM Brian Burke.

“This is one of the great brands in the history of sport and we wanted to make sure the person who wears the C lives up to that.”

Phaneuf was joined on stage for the press conference by former Maple Leafs captains George Armstrong, Darryl Sittler and Wendel Clark, each wearing a jersey reflective of their era. Teammates Luke Schenn, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel were also on hand.

“Dion represents everything we want a Toronto Maple Leaf player to be,” said coach Ron Wilson. “He's someone who plays with passion, comes to the rink day in and day out, works harder than anybody. ... He's difficult to play against (and) a remarkable talent who's getting better every year."

The Maple Leafs have needed a Captain to guide this young team, which at times early last season looked lost. After the big trade to get Phaneuf and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Leafs started to build some momentum and finished the NHL season strong.

The Leafs also took the opportunity to unveil the new Maple Leafs jersey that throws back to the 1993 design. The new design brings back the iconic horizontal stripes at the bottom of the jersey, which were dropped a few years ago, along with a shoulder patch reminiscent of the 1993 design.

“It marks a return to our roots,” said Burke.

It is the first design in a while that brings the tradition back to the Leafs jerseys, and brings Leafs Nation back to the days when the Team turned a corner and brought pride back the fans.

With the Leafs youngsters improving each game, hopefully a full season with Mike Komisarek, Nazem Kadri ready to crack the lineup, and a new Captain... Things could be turning around in Leafs land.

<< Back