Toronto Marlies

For the junior ice hockey team, see Toronto Marlboros.

Toronto Marlies
City	Toronto, Ontario
League	American Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	North
Founded	1978
Home arena	Coca-Cola Coliseum Scotiabank Arena (occasional home games)
Colours	Blue, white
Owner(s)	Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
General manager	Ryan Hardy
Head coach	John Gruden
Captain	Logan Shaw
Media	The Sports Network Sportsnet 590 TSN 1050 AHL.TV (Internet)
Affiliates	Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Franchise history
1978–1982	New Brunswick Hawks
1982–1986	St. Catharines Saints
1986–1991	Newmarket Saints
1991–2005	St. John's Maple Leafs
2005–present	Toronto Marlies
Championships
Regular season titles	2 (2015–16, 2017–18)
Division titles	7 (2007–08, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2022–23)
Conference titles	2 (2012, 2018)
Calder Cups	1 (2018)
Current season

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.

History

The Marlies trace their history back to the New Brunswick Hawks, which were founded in 1978 as the first professional ice hockey team in New Brunswick, and were jointly operated by the Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks as a farm team. ^{[1] [2]} Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL) and the Black Hawks each owned half of the franchise. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

The Hawks played until 1982 when they relocated to St. Catharines, Ontario ^[6] as the St. Catharines Saints, this time as a sole Leafs affiliate; the Hawks had opted to affiliate with the Springfield Indians. After four seasons, the team moved to Newmarket, Ontario as the Newmarket Saints, where they played for five seasons before moving to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador ^{[7] [8]} as the St. John's Maple Leafs, the first professional ice hockey team in Newfoundland and Labrador. The team played their home games at Memorial Stadium until 2001, when they moved to Mile One Centre.

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, 1,781 km (1,107 mi) 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.

The Marlies with the Calder Cup, the club's first after defeating the Texas Stars in the 2018 Calder Cup Final.

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.

On December 1, 2019, Greg Moore was named as head coach of the Marlies, replacing Sheldon Keefe who was promoted to head coach of the Maple Leafs. ^[10]

On May 21st, 2023, Moore was relieved of his duties. John Gruden was announced as the teams new Head Coach on July 4th, 2023.

Team information

Logo

Alternate team logo

Former logo used from 2005 to 2016

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

Calder Cup Champions

Conference Champions

Division Champions

League leader

Records as of the end of the 2023–24 season. ^[11]

Regular season											Playoffs
Season	Games	Won	Lost	OTL	SOL	Points	PCT	Goals for	Goals against	Standing	Year	Prelims	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
2005–06	80	41	29	6	4	92	.575	270	263	4th, North	2006	—	L, 1–4, GR	—	—	—
2006–07	80	34	39	2	5	75	.469	220	270	6th, North	2007	Did not qualify
2007–08	80	50	21	3	6	109	.681	246	203	1st, North	2008	—	W, 4–3, SA	W, 4–3, SYR	L, 1–4, CHI	—
2008–09	80	39	29	5	7	90	.563	240	229	4th, North	2009	—	L, 2–4, MTB	—	—	—
2009–10	80	33	35	6	6	78	.488	193	261	5th, North	2010	Did not qualify
2010–11	80	37	32	1	10[1]	85	.531	228	219	5th, North	2011	Did not qualify
2011–12	76	44	24	5	3	96	.632	217	175[4]	1st, North	2012	—	W, 3–0, RCH	W, 4–1, ABB	W, 4–1, OKC	L, 0–4, NOR
2012–13	76	43	23	3	7	96	.632	237	199	1st, North	2013	—	W, 3–0, RCH	L, 2–4, GR	—	—
2013–14	76	45	25	2	4	96	.632	223	202	1st, North	2014	—	W, 3–0, MIL	W, 4–0, CHI	L, 3–4, TEX	—
2014–15	76	40	27	9	0	89	.586	207	203	2nd, North	2015	—	L, 2–3, GR	—	—	—
2015–16	76	54	16[3]	5	1	114	.750	294	191	1st, North	2016	—	W, 3–0, BRI	W, 4–3, ALB	L, 1–4, HER	—
2016–17	76	42	29	4	1	89	.586	245	207	2nd, North	2017	—	W, 3–1, ALB	L, 3–4, SYR	—	—
2017–18	76	54	18[2]	2	2	112	.737	254	170[3]	1st, North	2018	—	W, 3–2, UTI	W, 4–0, SYR	W, 4–0, LV	W, 4–3, TEX
2018–19	76	39	24	9	4	91	.599	248	243	3rd, North	2019	—	W, 3–0, RCH	W, 4–0, CLE	L, 2–4, CHA	—
2019–20	61	29	27	3	2	63	.516	206	212	7th, North	2020	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	35	16	17	0	2	34	.486	111	119	4th, Canadian	2021	No playoffs were held
2021–22	72	37	30	4	1	79	.549	243	244	6th, North	2022	Did not qualify
2022–23	72	42	24	4	2	90	.625	229	225	1st, North	2023	BYE	W, 3–1, UTI	L, 0–3, ROC	—	—
2023–24	72	34	26	10	2	80	.556	249	220	5th, North	2024	L, 1–2, BEL	—	—	—	—
Totals	1400	753	495	83	69	1658	.592	4360	4055			13 playoff appearances

_[1]-Indicates league leading: most shootout losses

_[2]-Indicates league leading: fewest losses

_[3]-Indicates league leading: fewest goals against

Players and personnel

Current roster

Updated August 22, 2024. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

Team roster

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
–		Matt Anderson	D	L	25	2024	Shakopee, Minnesota	Marlies
14		Matthew Barbolini	C	L	24	2024	Williamsville, New York	Marlies
–		Jacob Bengtsson	D	L	25	2024	Stockholm, Sweden	Marlies
43		Kyle Clifford  ( A )	LW	L	33	2021	Ayr, Ontario	Marlies
–		Jacob Frasca	C	R	21	2024	Brampton, Ontario	Marlies
–		Mathieu Gosselin	RW	R	25	2024	Quebec City, Quebec	Marlies
33		Roni Hirvonen	C	L	22	2023	Espoo, Finland	Maple Leafs
–		Alexander Nylander	RW	R	26	2024	Calgary, Alberta	Marlies
50		Vyacheslav Peksa	G	L	21	2023	Magnitogorsk, Russia	Maple Leafs
61		Jacob Quillan	C	L	22	2024	Dartmouth, Nova Scotia	Maple Leafs
82		Chas Sharpe	D	R	20	2024	Orillia, Ontario	Marlies
11		Logan Shaw  ( C )	RW	R	31	2022	Glace Bay, Nova Scotia	Marlies
–		Marko Sikic	RW	R	21	2024	Kitchener, Ontario	Marlies
55		Sam Stevens	C	L	24	2024	Montreal, Quebec	Marlies
77		Ryan Tverberg	C	R	22	2023	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Maple Leafs
49		Ty Voit	C	R	21	2023	Wexford, Pennsylvania	Maple Leafs

Team captains

• Marc Moro, 2005–2007
• Ben Ondrus, 2007–2010
• Alex Foster, 2010–11
• Ryan Hamilton, 2011–2013
• Trevor Smith, 2013–2015
• Troy Bodie, 2015
• Andrew Campbell, 2015–2017
• Ben Smith, 2018 ^[15]
• Rich Clune, 2021–2022 ^[16]
• Logan Shaw, 2022–present

Head coaches

Sheldon Keefe with the Calder Cup after the 2018 Calder Cup Final. He was named as the Marlies head coach in 2015.

• Paul Maurice, 2005–2006
• Greg Gilbert, 2006–2009
• Dallas Eakins, 2009–2013
• Steve Spott, 2013–2014
• Gord Dineen, 2014–2015
• Sheldon Keefe, 2015–2019
• Greg Moore, 2019–2023
• John Gruden, 2023–present

Notable alumni

The following players have played both 100 games with the Marlies and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

• Joey Anderson
• Bates Battaglia
• Joseph Blandisi
• Connor Brown
• Sam Carrick
• Richard Clune
• Joe Colborne
• Matt Frattin
• Frederik Gauthier
• Colin Greening
• Jay Harrison
• Justin Holl
• Korbinian Holzer
• Andreas Johnsson
• Nazem Kadri
• Kasperi Kapanen
• Brendan Leipsic
• Josh Leivo
• Timothy Liljegren
• Mason Marchment
• Greg McKegg
• Brendan Mikkelson
• John Mitchell
• Trevor Moore
• Jiri Tlusty
• Michael Zigomanis

Team records

Single season

• Goals: John Pohl, 36 (2005–06)
• Assists: Jeremy Bracco, 57 (2018–19)
• Points: Tim Stapleton, 79 (2008–09); Jeremy Bracco, 79 (2018–19)
• Penalty minutes: Andre Deveaux, 216 (2009–10)
• Point streak: Spencer Abbott, 13 (Oct. 6, 2013 – Nov. 16, 2013)
• GAA: ^{[lower-alpha 1]} Garret Sparks, 1.79 (2017–18)
• SV%: ^{[lower-alpha 1]} Garret Sparks, .936 (2017–18)
• Wins: ^{[lower-alpha 1]} Garret Sparks, 31 (2017–18)
• Shutouts: ^{[lower-alpha 1]} Garret Sparks, 6 (2017–18)

1. Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender.

Career

Recording 15 shutouts with the Marlies, Garret Sparks holds the franchise all-time shutout record with the team.

• Career goals: Ryan Hamilton, 94
• Career assists: Mike Zigomanis, 116
• Career points: Kris Newbury, 168
• Career penalty Minutes: Kris Newbury, 475
• Career goaltending wins: Garret Sparks, 80
• Career shutouts: Garret Sparks, 15
• Career games: Alex Foster, 312

Other records and firsts

• First game: October 7, 2005. Rochester Americans 8, Marlies 5
• First home game and first win: October 12, 2005. Marlies 5, Syracuse Crunch 2.
• First goal: October 7, 2005. Rochester Americans 8, Marlies 5. Goal scored by Colin Murphy
• First shutout: December 14, 2005. Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Marlies 5, Grand Rapids Griffins 0.
• First hat trick: January 2, 2006. Luke Fulghum. Marlies 6, Cleveland Barons 1.
• Most goals scored in a game: 10 (twice): February 8, 2009. Marlies 10, Grand Rapids Griffins 5. February 27, 2016. Marlies 10, Rochester Americans 5.

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in Ontario

References

1. "Sports roundup". The Globe and Mail . 1978-06-24.
2. "Leafs, Hawks to Moncton". Toronto Star. 1978-06-20.
3. "Ballard wants Leafs to have own farm club". The Globe and Mail. 1980-03-21.
4. "Across Canada: No liquor licence for Leafs-Hawks farm club". The Globe and Mail. 1978-11-09.
5. "AHL Hawks get Tessier". The Globe and Mail. 1981-08-22.
6. "Leafs place AHL team in St. Kitts". The Globe and Mail. 1982-06-22.
7. "AHL History". Toronto Marlies. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
8. Ballou, Bill (2013-04-04). "AHL: Bracken Kearns easy Worcester Sharks MVP choice". Telegram & Gazette . Retrieved 2014-01-26.
9. McGran, Kevin (June 14, 2018). "Toronto Marlies capture first Calder Cup". The Toronto Star. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
10. "Greg Moore Named Head Coach of Toronto Marlies". NHL.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
11. Hockeydb.com, Toronto Marlies season statistics and records.
12. "Toronto Marlies roster". Toronto Marlies. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
13. "Toronto Marlies Roster". American Hockey League . Retrieved August 22, 2024.
14. "Toronto Marlies Transactions 2023-24 Regular Season". American Hockey League . Retrieved August 22, 2024.
15. "Toronto Marlies name a captain and official alternates". SB Nation . 3 January 2018.
16. "Rich Clune Named Toronto Marlies Captain". OurSports Central. 1 March 2021.

External links

• Official website