Despite Photo, No Change to Leafs Helmets in 2018

As far as “chin strap” and “ear loop” talk goes, last night reached a fever pitch within Leafs Nation.

A photo showing three NHL players outfitted in their full, brand new Adidas uniforms was shared on Instagram yesterday, and (as several users pointed out) this included a small change to the lid of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In the photo we see Leafs center William Nylander posing next to Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine, on Nylander’s helmet the ear loops and chin strap are both white:

It looks good. So good it feels like that’s how it should always be. It isn’t, though… the Leafs wear a black chin strap and ear loop, as this photo of Mr. Nylander from 2016-17 shows:

We reached out to the Leafs to see if this was indeed an official change, the team responded with some bad news for those hoping for a swap to white…

“That photo was from a non-team event and the helmet isn’t accurate”, Dave Haggith, Sr. Director of Communications at Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment told SportsLogos.Net in an email. “[There’s] no change to the Leafs helmet from last season.”

The team has worn white straps and ear loops previously but not for some time now. You can see some players with the white in the late 1990s, however it wasn’t an across-the-team uniform decision, some players wore all-black as they do today, or even half-black/half-white.