Just a day before an all-Canadian Stanley Cup Playoff showdown between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Mayor John Tory is urging fans in his city to continue watching the games from home.
With the province under a stay-at-home order until June 2, the mayor says the way to responsibly celebrate the Maple Leafs’ playoff run should be done with the lockdown in mind. At least for the first round.
“Right now, we still want people to stay at home,” Tory said Wednesday morning on the SN590 The Fan’s Lead Off.
“Until the province changes those rules, we will be standing down in terms of other activities to organize, but we are talking about it.”
[snippet id=5130093]
Tory said the hope is something like the Raptors’ drive-in version of Jurassic Park could be explored in the future, especially if the No. 1-seeded Maple Leafs make a long playoff run like many predict.
“On the hopes that the Leafs are going to go into the playoffs deep, that means the reopening will have begun hopefully by then, there’s a possibility we could do some of that sort of thing,” Tory explained. “You know, if you start making arrangements to have people come here or come there, whether they are in their cars or not, you’re going against (the stay-at-home order).”
The mayor’s comments come a day after the Canadiens were given the go-ahead to host 2,500 fans after May 28 when Quebec’s 9:30 p.m. ET curfew is officially lifted. Montreal would have to make it to Game 6 on May 29 for fans to be officially welcomed back to the Bell Centre.
On a lighter note, Tory confirmed he’s made a first-round bet with Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante. The terms include a case of craft beer, a sandwich, bragging rights, a donation to charity and, most importantly, the losing mayor will have to raise the winning team’s flag outside the loser’s city hall.
The Canadiens and Maple Leafs open their series – the first playoff meeting between the rivals in more than 40 years – Thursday on Sportsnet and CBC. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. PT.
[relatedlinks]
2:28
