Maple Leafs want to host NHL events for centennial

The Toronto Maple Leafs 100th season will be in the 2017-18 season, but they are already trying to get ahead of the rest of the league by wanting to be included

The Toronto Maple Leafs 100th season will be in the 2017-18 season, but they are already trying to get ahead of the rest of the league by wanting to be included in some of the National Hockey League's special events.

According to SportsNet, the Maple Leafs want to host everything they can in conjunction with their centennial, including the All-Star Game, the NHL Draft, the Winter Classic, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. 

Hosting the Winter Classic in 2017 would be dependent on expanding BMO Field, the home of the Toronto Football Club.

"It's not a splash. I just think Toronto -- it's our 100th anniversary, and this is the greatest hockey city on Earth. I think we owe it to our fans. And we're telling the league that they owe it to our fans," Tim Leiweke, the CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment said. "They don't disagree, but we've got to go through a process to win it. I think we'll win it. I think we'll get there. But we got to go bid on it."

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The Maple Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, the sport's longest current drought.  

-Scooby Axson