The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a company that owns several professional sports teams in the city, including their NHL affiliate, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Marlies have played their home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum since 2005.
The Marlies were established as the New Brunswick Hawks in 1978. The team relocated three times, to St. Catharines, Newmarket, and St. John's, before relocating to Toronto in 2005. As a part of its relocation to Toronto, the team was renamed the Marlies, after the Toronto Marlboros, a junior hockey team formerly sponsored by the Maple Leafs. The Marlies have advanced to the Calder Cup Finals in 2012 and 2018, with the Marlies having won the latter series.
The AHL had a strong presence in Atlantic Canada in the 1980s and 1990s. However, after the turn of the millennium, NHL teams sought to have their AHL affiliates located geographically closer to their parent clubs in order to ease the movement of players between the minors and the NHL. By 2004, St. John's was the only remaining team in the region. Although the team was extremely popular and had excellent attendance, the parent Maple Leafs wanted to cut back on escalating travel costs. By the time of the team's final season in Newfoundland, their nearest opponent was the Portland Pirates, 1,781km (1,107mi) away. Additionally, Ricoh Coliseum (formerly CNE Coliseum and now Coca-Cola Coliseum) had recently been renovated for hockey use, and the NHL Leafs were looking to place a team there. The Coliseum had been home to the Toronto Roadrunners, top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, in the 2003–04 season. These factors resulted in the team's relocation to Toronto for the 2005–06 season.
The team is named after the former Toronto Marlboros, a junior hockey team that played in Toronto from 1904 to 1989, the last 62 years of that time under common ownership with the Leafs. The team was long known as the "Marlies" to fans and media alike. To avoid any potential association with the similarly named cigarette brand, MLSE uses the abbreviated form as the team's official nickname.
During the 2011–12 AHL season, the Marlies advanced to the Calder Cup Finals, the deepest playoff run for a Toronto-based team since the Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967. They lost to the Norfolk Admirals in a four-game sweep.
In 2015–16 season, the Marlies moved from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference due to the relocation of five teams to California.
The Marlies compete against Ontario rivals the Belleville Senators in the "Battle of the 401" or "Battle of Ontario" since the 2017-18 season.
During the 2017–18 AHL season, the Marlies won their first Calder Cup after a 4–3 series win over the Texas Stars in the finals.[9] It was the first professional hockey title for a Toronto-based team since 1967.
Team information
Logo
The Toronto Marlies' primary colours are blue and white, which is used in the team's logo. The present logo for the Marlies, introduced in 2016, is based on the Toronto Marlboros' logo. The Marlboros were a junior ice hockey team that was formerly sponsored by Maple Leaf Gardens Limited.
Broadcast information
All regular season home games, as well as all home and away playoff games air on AHL.TV, with Todd Crocker as the play-by-play announcer. Select games such as playoff games are also simulcast on The Sports Network.
Season-by-season results
This is a partial list of the past five seasons completed by the Marlies. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Toronto Marlies seasons
The Marlies have employed eight head coaches. Sheldon Keefe has the franchise's highest winning percentage at .672 across 319 games coached from the 2015 to 2019 seasons, prior to being promoted to the NHL as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.[17] The following day, Keefe signed a three-year contract with the Maple Leafs.[18]
On December 1, 2019, Greg Moore was named as head coach of the Marlies, replacing Keefe.[19] Moore recorded the lowest winning percentage (.538) among coaches who served more than one full season, guiding the team in 213 games during his tenure.[20]
Moore was relieved of his duties in May 2023, replaced by John Gruden in July 2023.[21]
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Current season 
