The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup in almost half a century, but a lot of great players have worn blue and white over the years. Now, the hockey club is now going to honour some of them with a monument outside the Air Canada Centre.
The Leafs unveiled that a statue of former captain Ted Kennedy -- who played during the 1940s and 50s, winning five Stanley Cups -- as the first player to be added to "Legend's Row."
"If he was here now, I think he's wipe away a tear and say that perhaps this is his greatest honour as a Leaf," Kennedy's son, Mark Kennedy, told reportersThursday morning.
The Port Colborne native played 14 season with Leafs, winning the Hart Trophy for the league's MVPduring the 1954-55 season. Kennedy was the last Leaf to win the prize. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 and passed away in 2009 at the age of 83.
The "Legend's Row" statue is still in the works, but when complete, it will be a 10-metre-long granite bench with bronze players hopping over it. Construction began months ago and fans will soon be able to pose next to the statue, located outside of Gate 5.
The Leafs will name two more players in September, and then three per year after that until there are ten players on the bench. The players will represent different eras from the team’s history.
As for the other players to be named, Leafs president Brendan Shanahan knows he has a tough task ahead, but he isn't doing it alone.
"It's going to be a tough job," he told CTV Toronto, adding that choosing the honourees will involve fans, a selection committee and the historical committee.
