Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Toronto Maple Leafs" in Simple English language version.
Conn Smythe bought the Toronto St. Pats in 1927 after the franchise almost had been sold to a group in Philadelphia. He immediately changed the name of the team to the Maple Leafs to honor Canada's soldiers who wore the Maple Leaf while fighting during World War I. "We chose it ... hoping that the possession of this badge would mean something to the team that wore it and when they skated out on the ice with this badge on their chest ... they would wear it with honor and pride and courage, the way it had been worn by the soldiers of the first Great War in the Canadian Army," said Smythe, who also changed the team's colors from green and white to blue and white.
