Maple Leafs alumni added to Legends Row

Keon, Broda and Horton have statues revealed, numbers retired

Broda, Keon and Horton, honoured with statues revealed on Thursday outside the Air Canada Centre.  Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

By
October 16, 2016

Three Toronto Maple Leafs alumni had their statues unveiled on Legends Row on Thursday.

Goaltender Turk Broda, former captain Dave Keon and defenceman Tim Horton joined the likes of fellow Leaf greats such as Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler, and Ted Kennedy.

Keon attended the ceremony while the late Broda and Horton were represented by family members.

Sittler, Bower and fan-favourite Wendel Clark were also in attendance along with Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock.

Broda stands as one of the best goalies in NHL history. He won five Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in his 15-year career despite taking more than two years away from hockey to fight in the Second World War. Broda has the most Stanley Cup rings of any player in Leafs history.

Keon, known as the “Canadiens Killer”, won four Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs including their last championship in 1967. He was the captain of the Leafs for six seasons and voted by his peers as the best player in Leafs history.

Tim Horton is one of the greatest defenders to ever don the blue and white. Horton was the first Maple Leafs player to reach 1,000 career games played. Additionally, he holds the team record for consecutive games played at 483 (February 11, 1961 – February 4, 1968). Horton won four Stanley Cups as a member of the Maple Leafs.

A fan wearing a Dave Keon jersey awaits the revealing of the statues
Maple Leafs legendary goaltender Johnny Bower greets his fellow Leafs alumni before the ceremony
Maple Leafs Head Coach Mike Babcock and Dave Keon greet alumni before the ceremony
The 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums were on hand to open the ceremony
Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan makes the first speech of the ceremony
Bonnie Broda, the daughter of late Leafs goaltender Turk Broda, speaks on behalf of her father
Jeri-Lyn Joyce, daughter of defender Tim Horton, speaks on Behalf of her father
Former Maple Leafs Captain Dave Keon makes a speech before the unveling of his statue

Numbers retired

On Saturday, the new Leafs legends were honoured once again during the teams’ Centennial season ceremony. Horton and Broda already had their numbers hanging from the rafters but the organization also retired them, along with 15 other numbers of Leaf greats. Keon’s banner was raised for the first time as he’d previously refused to participate in such events until the organization agreed to retire numbers rather than just honour them.

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Copy editor: Daniel McKenzie
Posted: Oct 16 2016 12:19 pm
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