Toronto maple leafs stadium series jersey showdown as opposed to the Washington Capitals on March 3 won’t be the first white gathering Nazem Kadri has crashed.
“Funny you should ask. I do [own white pants],” Kadri said Saturday, referring to the all-white constant his Leafs will be generous at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
“I’ve been to a couple of white parties in my lifetime. And the white track pants? You’ve got to have those. So I do have a couple of pairs.”
For the first time in an outer game — a road match, no less — the Maple Leafs will wear not only white sweaters with a white Maple Leaf logo but also white helmets, white socks, white mitt and white pants — after Labour Day.
“It was a little bit of a blow,” said Tyler Bozak, who aids model the alternate consistent for advertising ground. “Hopefully, it’s not snow… or we might not be intelligent to see each other. I like them, and I think it’s cool. Kinda something different.”
The unique sweaters were designed to honour the heritage of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club.
Maple Leafs Reveal Bold All-White Jerseys for Upcoming Stadium Series
Inside the choker of the Stadium, the Series cardigan will be the motto of the Royal Canadian Navy: “Ready, Aye, Ready.”
The Maple Leafs’ “Honour Pride Courage” motto will be moved from the collar to the sheath for the event and be baste in blue.
As the NHL’s new uniform creator, Adidas also decked out the wear Pacific Division in white pants and gloves during last month’s NHL All-Star Game.
“I was surprised,” said Morgan Rielly, reporting his initial reaction. “The jersey itself looks great, and I think it looks cool. When you look at the white mitten and white pants, it’s pretty unique and lovely cool. I’m looking ahead to wearing them.”
Toronto’s blue sweaters in the 2014 Winter Classic against the Red Wings (in red) created an unconvincing visual spectacle, as both sides wore dark colours under the gale. The Leaf’s sport blue again (with a white band) through their outdoor repeat versus Detroit at the 2017 Centennial Classic.
Toronto won both games dramatically, the first on a Bozak sport dagger, the second thanks to an Auston Matthews OT winner.
The Leafs will disguise themselves as they attempt to extend their outdoor victorious streak against Washington, the club that expelled them from the playoffs last spring.
“It’s a bit of a unique situation and a distinctive game. It should be a lot of pleasure,” Kadri said. “Maybe there will be a gale, and it’ll be a nice effect.”
Toronto Maple Leafs Unveil Eye-Catching All-White Jerseys for Stadium Series
This sounded like a cathartic experience for Bowness, who didn’t hesitate to evaluate the series — or the late-season meltdown.
All of it made its way to the surface and boiled over.
“I’m so disappointed and disgusted right now,” said Bowness. “That’s my thoughts.”
Bowness was warming up, building to a crescendo.
“No pushback. It’s the same crap we maxim in February,” said Bowness. “As soon as we were challenging for first place and teams came after us, we had no pushback. In this series, we had no pushback. Their better participant was so much better than ours; it wasn’t even close.
“We have to push back. There has to be a pushback, and there has to be pride. You have to be clever to push back when things aren’t going your way. We had no drive. Their better players were so much superior to ours tonight. They deserved to win. They were the better team in the methodical season and the better team in this series.”
These words from Bowness support the theory of going in a new direction with certain core group members.
Did the Jets face a significant disadvantage not having Nikolaj Ehlers for the first four games of the series and losing Josh Morrissey in Game 3 and Mark Scheifele in Game 4?
Of course, but the Golden Knights battled the injury bug all season and still found a way to finish first in the Western Conference.
They did it with a relentless attitude, persistence on both the forecheck and the backcheck, and depth at every position.
Ehlers was back for Game 5, battling an undisclosed upper-body injury he was not ready to discuss publicly.
He gutted it out, then overcame an early blocked shot on the right foot,
“That’s not a spot you want to be in now. We’d much rather still be playing,” said Ehlers. “But anytime you’re out, it sucks. There’s no other word for it.”
What about the future of Bowness?
This season took a physical and emotional toll after he dealt with the effects of Covid in early October.
Bowness brought an improved structure, but the bad habits that have been engrained turned out to be impossible to flush thoroughly, and that’s another reason the Jets were the second-best team in this series.
Game 5 against the Golden Knights on Thursday was not just a symptom; it’s more about the disease infiltrating the situation.
Continuity can be an excellent quality, but it has to be accompanied by the results.
Continuity, just for the sake of continuity, can lead to complacency.
