Late Sudbury-area Indigenous man being honoured with arena dedication

An arena in the Greater Sudbury community of Garson will be named after a former Toronto Maple Leafs captain and local hockey legend.

City council voted unanimously at a meeting Tuesday to rename the Garson Community Centre and Arena after George Armstrong, who passed away in 2021.

Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre told CTV News there are plans to host a celebration in the fall.

"This is great news, he fact that all of council was unanimous that we renamed the Garson arena to the George Armstrong Community Arena," Lefebvre said.

"The family is excited, the community of Nickel Centre, the whole city is excited as well. I think that just goes to show the history and the talent of hockey we have here and all the athletes. That we can honour a gentleman and true athlete."

Armstrong originally hails from the Greater Sudbury community of Skead and helped lead the Leafs to Stanley Cup victory four times in the 60s.

He also broke barriers as one of the first Indigenous players to score in the NHL.