Leafs unveil new 2010-11 sweatersThe Toronto Maple Leafs officially unveiled their redesigned 2010-11 sweaters this afternoon while at the same time introducing Dion Phaneuf as their new captain.

As rumored, the new sweaters feature dual stripes around the sleeves and waist, laced collars, and a shoulder patch resurrected 10 years after it was retired.

A release on the Leafs' website talks a little about the changes that have been made:

“Our fans have been quite vocal since 2007. They have wanted the stripes and shoulder patch back on the sweater,” said Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and chief operating officer for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. “We listened to them, and we hope they are as excited about the new, classic look as we are.”

Glad to see they were listening.

The Maple Leafs will debut the uniform beginning with the first preseason game September 21 in Toronto against the Ottawa Senators. The team’s nostalgic white ‘Third Sweater’ that debuted in 1998-99 will stay the same in 2010-11.

This is the first modification to the Toronto Maple Leafs uniform since the beginning of the 2007-08 season and fans will recognize the new changes based on past uniform lineage. The two stripes on the arm and the 11-point front crest, implemented at the start of the 1970-71 season, remains unchanged on the sweater.

The team has brought back the two horizontal stripes around the waist which have been absent for the past three seasons. The ‘classic style’ veined Leaf logo (with no interior lettering) will return on the sweater as a shoulder patch as it did from 1992 to 2000.

In addition, a string lace collar on their home and road sweaters will replace the V-shaped collar. The lettering and numbers of the sweaters will also be single layered again, without an outside trim.

Currently the photo of the jerseys above is the only one that has been released by the team via its website. When more become available, I'll provide links.

In the meantime, initial thoughts? I know we like it better than the 2007 catastrophe, but it is everything we were hoping for?