The last time the Marlies played for the Calder Cup it changed the Maple Leafs forever

The last time the Marlies played for the Calder Cup, it handed Sheldon Keefe the Leafs job and brought in several NHL players and they can do it again in 2026.

The Calder Cup Final is upon us as the Toronto Marlies and Chicago Wolves take the ice to see who reigns supreme in the AHL. The Marlies had a somewhat storybook journey to the championship meanwhile the Wolves also had a little bit of a tough path to get here and needed seven games to get past Colorado in the Western Conference Finals.

It's going to have a lot more eyes on it than usual given that the games are being broadcast nationwide on Sportsnet as well as in the United States on NHL Network, so instead of your general viewing audience, you are going to have potentially millions of eyes watching - something both teams deserve given how hard they've worked.

2018's Calder Cup win handed Sheldon Keefe a job with the Maple Leafs and a slew of NHLers

The Marlies are no stranger to winning though, as they have been here before. Back in 2018, the Marlies defeated the Texas Stars to hoist the Calder Cup, winning the decisive Game 7 by a 6-1 final.

It was their first in the history of the franchise, and that's saying something considering the team has been around in various iterations since the mid-1920's when they were the Toronto Marlboros; with Marlies being a nod to the former name.

But it also set things up nicely for the Maple Leafs. Sheldon Keefe was head coach and his friend Kyle Dubas felt that was worth a promotion, and Keefe was named as Maple Leafs head coach in the 2019-2020 season where he replaced Mike Babcock.

We saw how well Keefe ran the Maple Leafs offence when he was in charge, as it was a high-tempo, fast-paced offence that saw him get the most out of Toronto's superstars even if he didn't end up winning the big one. Keefe finished his career in Toronto with a 212-97-40 record in the regular season.

But not only that, it also brought a lot of future NHL players to the team. The following Calder Cup winners were eventually brought into the Maple Leafs lineup at one point:

- Calvin Pickard
- Travis Dermott
- Justin Holl
- Timothy Liljegren
- Calle Rosen
- Pierre Engvall
- Frederik Gauthier
- Carl Grundstrom
- Mason Marchment
- Kasperi Kapanen

Some of these players are still carving out a solid NHL career to day such as Liljegren, Holl, Marchment and Kapanen which means that for those in 2026 - they may find themselves in the same boat.

2026 Marlies are holding not only future NHL players but also potentially the next head coach

We know that a few players from the Marlies are going to be making the leap or who already have like Easton Cowan, Dennis Hildeby and William Villeneuve but there are a few other players who could find themselves called upon next year.

Luke Haymes, Alex Nylander, and Landon Sim are all players who really shone this postseason and while Nylander has a bit of NHL experience, he hasn't been given a true shot.

You also have Artur Akhtyamov showcasing something special and he's making his mark as a potential superstar goalie, and then you've got Ben Danford oozing confidence and showing everyone why he's going to be such a good shutdown defender.

Not only that, but Toronto has to give a serious look at head coach John Gruden. He completely brought this group together and showed that he can manage both superstars and role players while properly utilizing his players.

Gruden has been great since coming in to the organization in 2023, and in only a couple years managed to turn the team into a Calder Cup finalist. That's not exactly easy, and if he can pull together this group of players, imagine what he could do with bonafide superstars like Auston Matthews and Gavin McKenna (presumably).

There's a lot of similarities between the two teams considering both were made up of a mix of veterans and young talent with a modern head coach. Now the only question is - can the Marlies make history once again?

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