Toronto traffic jam forces Hurricanes to walk to Maple Leafs game

Article content

For the second time this season, Toronto traffic forced an NHL team to walk to Scotiabank Arena instead of taking a bus from the hotel.

The Carolina Hurricanes shared a short clip to social media Saturday afternoon showing players walking toward the Skywalk path near the CN Tower in downtown Toronto to get to the Maple Leafs’ home rink.

“When a Toronto traffic jam means a pregame walk to the rink,” the Hurricanes social media team wrote on X alongside a smiling and sweating face emoji.

The Hurricanes are in Toronto to face the Leafs on Saturday night following a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament won by Canada on Thursday in Boston.

The team’s account had a little fun with the situation, cheerfully noting it was a great way for the players to get their steps in.

“10k steps a day and don’t you forget,” the team wrote in response to one fan.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

In late November, players with the Utah Hockey Club were also forced to ditch their ride to the rink to escape the gridlock.

“Walking pre-game to get to the rink because there’s way too much traffic,” Utah defenceman Maveric Lamoureux said in a clip shared to the team’s social media channels.

Utah was in town to play a game on a Sunday night, the same day that several downtown streets were closed due to the Santa Claus Parade earlier in the afternoon.

“I think that’s a first for everyone. Never saw that before,” Lamoureux said.

He also joked that the team would miss their 5:15 p.m. pre-game meeting, which started “in one minute.”

“Toronto has too much traffic so the boys got off the bus and walked to the rink!” the team wrote alongside the video. “I smell a conspiracy!”