Three Maple Leafs Games Officially Moved Because of Blue Jays' World Series Run
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly nearing a move from their original time slot to accommodate the Toronto Blue Jays World Series and avoid a clash.
The Blue Jays are gaining traction towards having an open slate for Toronto sports for game 2 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Leafs potentially moving their start time, according to a report from David Alter of The Hockey News.
According to Alter, citing multiple sources, the Leafs are close to moving from their spot, originally scheduled for Saturday, September 25th at 7:00p.m. EST vs the Buffalo Sabres, could be on the Move earlier for 5:00p.m., giving the Leafs an earlier start and the Jays the lone primetime focus.
On Wednesday morning, the team officially announced the NHL had adjusted the following games in order to accommodate the World Series:
The @NHL announced today the following changes to upcoming@MapleLeafs game start times due to the 2025 World Series:
October 24 at Buffalo changed from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
October 25 vs. Buffalo changed from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
October 28 vs. Calgary changed from 6:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
October 24 at Buffalo changed from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
October 25 vs. Buffalo changed from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
October 28 vs. Calgary changed from 6:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday is Game One of the World Series starting at 8PM, so pushing the game up a half hour means that the game should end roughly halfway through the first game of the series; at which point fans will likely be able to stay and watch the remainder.
Saturday's game gets quite the push being a two hour jump, and though the game is at 8PM as well, the Leafs would rather their fans be able to watch the majority of the game.
The game against Calgary is the lightest with only a 15 minute gap, but it still gives enough time for the fans to enjoy both.
It's great to see the team being willing to make sure their fans can catch both the Maple Leafs and Jays games, although the way things are going, they might prefer to watch the latter right now.
Scheduling Comes Into Question For Balance Between Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors
The Leafs, along with the Toronto Raptors, both have games around the same time as the Blue Jays first game of the series.
The Maple Leafs and Raptors have games starting at 7PM and 7:30PM respectively and the Blue Jays at 8:00PM with the entire city of Toronto anticipating a wild and crazy night; especially if the Blue Jays win.
The Leafs play back-to-back games against Buffalo for Games 1 and 2, one at home and on the road.
With Buffalo home to the Jays Triple-A affiliate, and near the Canadian border with a number of fans, the move helps out local Jays supporters south of the border be able to catch both teams.
The Los Angeles Kings have a game at 8:00PM EST (5:00PM PST) against the Nashville Predators, but being on the road, the Kings may have little ability to change their start time, making for both Kings and Dodgers fans a possible clash in options.
The Jays and Raptors both play at 8:00PM on October 27th, but both teams being on the road make a scheduling change unlikely.
The rest of the series, if it goes past the first four games, does not have set start times, but the Leafs and Raptors do not have any other disputes.
With the Blue Jays in their first World Series since winning their second consecutive title in 1993, the focus will be largely on the Jays, leaving the Leafs and Raptors the ones to hand an assist to their fellow Toronto team in MLB four wins away from a championship title.
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