The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced Syl Apps and George Armstrong as the next two Leafs greats to be added to Legends Row.
The announcement was made during a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday’s matchup versus the Winnipeg Jets.
“For a team with a history as rich as the Toronto Maple Leafs, and so many great players who have worn the Leafs sweater, choosing which players to honour on Legends Row could be a very difficult task, but when it came to Syl Apps and George Armstrong, it was unanimous,” said Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan. “Both Syl and George led their respective teams through two different eras of the team’s glory days with Hall of Fame careers and left a lasting legacy for future generations of Maple Leaf players to look up to.”
Armstrong spent his whole NHL career — 21 seasons — with the Maple Leafs, winning four Stanley Cups with the squad during their run in the 1960s, including the Leafs’ last Cup win in 1967.
Apps also spent his entire career with the Leafs, playing 10 seasons with the club and winning three Stanley Cups (1942, 1947, 1948). Apps died in 1998. He was represented at the ceremony by his son.
“I know my father would be both honoured and humbled to be included as part of the Toronto Maple Leafs Legends Row with the likes of Teeder Kennedy, George Armstrong, Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler and Borje Salming,” said Syl Apps Jr. “He was always proud to have been a member of the Leafs organization.”
Apps and Armstrong join Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler, Ted Kennedy and Borje Salming on the Row.
“I must have been better than I thought I was,” said Armstrong. “Borje Salming and Syl Apps, I can’t believe who I’m going in with.”
