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In years past, the Toronto Maple Leafs organization has been an open door when it came to providing information and trade rumors to the media, but since the hiring of Team President Brendan Shanahan and addition of GM Lou Lamoriello last July, the club’s management has been long on generalities and short on specifics regarding their future plans.
Lamoriello going back to his days with New Jersey is known for running a tight ship, but it is hard to believe in the center of the hockey media universe that he has been able to keep things quiet.
The first example of this was the opening day of training camp, when the club announced a five-for-one deal with the New York Islanders. The media had completed player interviews at the Mastercard Center in Etobicoke, ON and were told that Lamoriello would be holding an impromptu presser.
A few minutes prior to appearing, the Leafs media relations staff tweeted out and issued a press release that the club had acquired winger Michael Grabner, a trade which no one had a clue of.
Out a month because of the hit? Nope. Here's the rest of the story #TMLtalk #marlieslive pic.twitter.com/jy9FWPrH9g
— Todd Crocker (@HockeyCrock) January 29, 2016The health status updates on prospect William Nylander were limited to the concussion issues after being knocked out of Sweden’s opening game at the 2016 World Junior on December 26th.
The 19-year-old made his return with the Marlies in Grand Rapids on Friday after missing over a month and only then was it revealed that he had also suffered from appendicitis during his month out of the lineup.
What this means for the upcoming trade deadline is that trade rumors will likely be coming from outside of Toronto prior to February 29th and that there could be little forewarning of deals.
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The Maple Leafs are expected to unveil their new emblem for the 2016-17 centennial season on Tuesday and according to a report from Sportslogos.net, the design is expected to be an merging of two 1960’s-era Leafs crests and not a radical new design.
New details: New Maple #Leafs logo will be a combination of classic 60s logos #NHL
MORE --> https://t.co/ixbqMERAGY pic.twitter.com/Yp1I7UMFhM
— Chris Creamer (@sportslogosnet) January 29, 2016What will not be announced on Tuesday is any update regarding league events to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the franchise. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced in Nashville on Saturday that the 2017 NHL All-Star Game has been awarded to Los Angeles, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary.
Toronto has put in bids for the 2017 Winter Classic and to host the 2017 NHL Draft, but Bettman indicated that the league is not ready to make those announcements.
Howdy. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/nj4rJZpVVJ
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 30, 2016*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
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