The new Jersey numbers are in for new Leafs Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty will wear; one will be wearing an iconic former Leaf's number
Even after swinging a deal with the Blues to bring in Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari, all eyes were on the Leafs to see what type of move they'd pursue next to bolster their roster ahead of the deadline. Everyone knew that the Leafs were actively seeking an upgrade on defense and they got just that on Monday when Kyle Dubas acquired defenseman Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks. He also picked up an additional depth forward in Sam Lafferty - a good, solid energy guy with excellent speed, some added physicality, the ability to play both wing and center and, perhaps most importantly, some scoring touch to help out with some secondary scoring.
Just a few hours following the completion of the deal, the Leafs revealed which jersey numbers will be worn by McCabe and Lafferty. The team revealed the numbers in a short video, will the heat press concealing the numbers, before it lifts off and swings away, much like what they did with O'Reilly and Acciari with their jersey reveals.
McCabe will be donning the number 2, like 29 Leafs before him. Some of the more notable Leafs to have worn the number are Ian Turnbull (1974-1982), Wade Belak (2001-2004), Brian Leetch (2004), Luke Schenn (2009-2012) and, most recently, Ron Hainsey (2018-19).
Lafferty will also be wearing a number worn by 29 other Leafs before him, but his number 28 is especially iconic. Obviously, I'm alluding to Tie Domi, who wore #28 from 1995-2006. Lafferty may not strike fear into the hearts of the opposition the same way Domi did, but there are a number of ways that he'll look to make his presence felt.
Joey Anderson, ironically enough, was the last Leaf to wear #28. He was just dealt to Chicago in the deal that brought Lafferty to Toronto. Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen and Colton Orr all preceded Anderson, also having worn #28 during their time with the Leafs.
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