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Toronto Maple Leafs: What marketable players can do for a team’s image

By Omar L

Dec 13, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) and center Mitch Marner (16) step onto the ice before the start of their game against the San Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre. The Sharks beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) and center Mitch Marner (16) step onto the ice before the start of their game against the San Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre. The Sharks beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are continuously on the rise both on and off the ice with the latest NHL18 Trailer showing how popular the Big Three are as marketing tools.

In the 2014-2015 season, jerseys were being picked up from the ice at the Air Canada Centre. Years before that, fans were coming to games with bags over their heads. Now, a player from the Toronto Maple Leafs is being featured in a teaser trailer for the next NHL video game.

EA Sports released a teaser trailer for the upcoming NHL 18 for PS4 and Xbox One on Wednesday. In it fans can see Leafs star foward Mitch Marner deking out an Ottawa Senators player—what else is new—and scoring. When was the last time a Leafs player was used as the star of a trailer for an NHL game?

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNHL/status/872493774525521920

You’d usually expect Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, or Patrick Kane to featured like that because they are the most marketable stars in the league. Now the Leafs have stars of their own that are getting significant attention.

What makes it better is that EA Sports used the famous, “The Kids Are All Right”, that phrase was the cornerstone of the season for the Blue and White because of how successful the rookies were this past season. Not only that, the EA Sports website has Marner, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander in the background.

Is this the year a Leafs player gets on the cover of an EA Sports Game? BarDown.com had a post of eight players that deserve consideration of being on the cover of NHL18. To the delight of Leafs Nation, Matthews was among those eight players listed.

It’s one thing for a fan base to know that their players are good. It’s another for other franchises and organizations to acknowledge it too. It has been a while since the team have had elite marketable players that can be shown off around the league. Does this happen without Matthews? The Centennial Classic was a major success because of how Matthews’ played the hero in overtime. Did that make the Leafs the most ideal team for the outdoor class against the Washington Capitals?

How many recall this commercial that Matthews did with Jonathan Toews?

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Cover or no cover, this goes to show how attractive a team the Leafs are now. In those dog years, young fans grew up cheering for other teams because of how unsuccessful Toronto was. It’s players like Matthews, Marner, and Nylander that can generate solid interest and excitement for a future goal. They’re young, they’re fun, and most importantly, they’re good.

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