Toronto Maple Leafs: Three Takeaways From the Home Opener

The Pregame Ceremony

Opening night always has a rare atmosphere and the ceremonies before the game are always special. The Centennial season is an important one for the Leafs and they have gotten off to a great start with the top 100 list being unveiled this week. The opening ceremony this season is unlike any other one that the team has been done because they finally decided to make a serious change from tradition. They decided to retire every number that was honoured by the organization.

This was especially important because Brendan Shanahan has worked hard to repair the relationships that were damaged by previous regimes, the most notable being Dave Keon.

Keon got his statue in Legends Row and was awarded the best player in franchise history, but there was always the issue of the jersey numbers not being retired.

The team preferred to honour jersey numbers instead of retiring them like other organizations do, but the team decided that a change in philosophy was made.

It is a good way to start your new era by repairing a wrong doing in the past and maybe the hockey Gods will finally look on this team in a better way for it.

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To see the emotional reaction from players like Darryl Sittler and Johnny Bower, who have been a big part of this organization for years, was a pleasant moment. If this is a sign of things to come with this new management group, it looks like Leafs fans will have a lot to enjoy this season.