Maple Leaf Gardens time capsule includes elephant figurine

The contents of a 1931 time capsule found at Maple Leaf Gardens were revealed Thursday and most of the items weren’t surprising — some newspapers, a letter, hockey rule books — but one artifact found inside the walls at the hockey shrine may leave some fans scratching their heads.

A small, ivory elephant with fragments of a blue ribbon was found among the mementoes. Elephants are a symbol of wisdom and patience in Asian cultures —perhaps it’s an item managers wished they’d had in their grasp during the Buds’ 44-year Stanley Cup-less stretch.

“I don’t think the previous owners left it as a challenge to this generation to find out the clues, but they have,” Sheldon Levy, president of Ryerson University, said Thursday.

Student Leslie Bradshaw thought it was a good luck charm – but if it was, it didn’t really work for the Leafs.

Former Leafs owner Conn Smythe built the hockey palace back in 1931 and the team played its final game there in 1999. The time capsule —a copper box 30 centimetres by 20 centimetres — was found while crews worked to renovate the former NHL rink into a massive grocery store that opened in November.

Other items found inside the capsule include:

• A four-page typed letter from the directors of Maple Leaf Gardens outlining the design and construction of the building.
• Three hockey rule books —one for the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, another for the Ontario Hockey Association and the third for the National Hockey League.
• A Red Ensign flag (Canada’s official flag before the adoption of the Maple Leaf)
• A four-page stock prospectus for Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. 
• Four newspapers — the Toronto Daily Star, The Globe, The Mail and Empire and The Evening Telegram — from Sept. 21, 1931.

“Maple Leaf Gardens holds a lot of special memories for millions of Canadians and, it turns out, it also held a few surprises from 1931 that were just waiting to be found,” Levy said.

“We are thrilled to share the contents of the time capsule with all Canadians.”

The items, now jointly-owned by Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Ryerson University, are on display Thursday at the university and will be kept in safe storage until a permanent display is built. Ryerson and Loblaw are asking for the public’s input on the significance of the elephant. They’re also asking for suggestions on what should be added to a new time capsule to be house at the facility’s new athletics centre later this summer.

You can submit your suggestion by tweeting @RyersonNews or visiting the university’s Facebook page.

What do you think about the elephant and what should be placed in the next time capsule? Let us know in the comments.