TORONTO – If rumors are true, Columbus Blue Jackets’ deafening cannon explosion will reverberate through the Scotiabank Arena if they puck behind Frederik Andersen during their Stanley Cup qualifying series.
Keep in mind that the Toronto Maple Leafs feel a little less at home in one of the many ways when they host the Eastern Conference.
The NHL is betting on a level playing field here and in Edmonton, where the Oilers will be at home with 24 teams for this restart, but not. Players on both teams move to hotels within the security zone on Sunday and are subject to the same rules and restrictions as everyone else.
From a hockey perspective, the Leafs will visit parts of their own building that some players may not be familiar with. You will almost certainly have to dress in the converted media room and changing room of the Toronto Raptors at some point, in addition to the NHL visiting room and its typical living environment behind the silver sliding doors.
Sheldon Keefe designed his summer training camp to try to familiarize his players with the unknown. For example, he is planning a simulated game on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET to adapt to the puck drop they will have in Game 2 against Columbus – but acknowledges that there are restrictions when it comes to preparing a visitor being at home.
“This will be quite a challenge,” said Keefe on Tuesday. “I think we have enough time next week to get that feeling.”
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The head coach is happy to have them as a visiting team for the exhibition game next Tuesday with Montreal, as this will expose them to a different changing room and a view from the other bank before jumping straight into the best-of-five.
The Leafs will get their own dressing room for Game 1 against Columbus on August 2 before moving to the media room and acting as the home team in Game 2 again. You will then be designated as a visitor to games 3 and 4 if necessary. and either assigned to the Raptors room or the NHL visiting room depending on the start time.
They would be considered the home team in the event of a crucial game 5 against the Blue Jackets.
“I think it’s important for our group to become familiar with discomfort (to be important) and deal with the insecurities and things you’re used to or just to realize that they may not be there.” said Leafs captain John Tavares. “You may not have access to it. We are the guest team in our building, there will be no fans.
“It’s just what it is.”
At least those who have completed the organization’s American Hockey League program will have experience of what’s to come. Justin Holl reminded his teammates that it is no different from what they saw during the Marlies’ traditional Boxing Day game at the Scotiabank Arena.
“We dressed in the guests’ locker rooms and sometimes liked the Raptors room and the like. It will only be a small step backwards, ”said Holl. “It’ll definitely be weird, but it’s something a lot of the guys did.”
The only area where the Leafs are believed to maintain familiar comfort is to stay in their spacious dressing room on the practice hall – although Keefe said on Tuesday that he hadn’t been told that this was the case.
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After settling in on Sunday, the teams will not change rooms at the Ford Performance Center during the entire qualifying round. The NHL has created a schedule in which everyone is assigned a training time on one of three pads a day, and they have the option of using the larger Olympic-sized sheet if they would rather skate on a different paddle time.
In Toronto’s case, this means that several afternoon exercises are planned for the next week or two – something they would rarely, if ever, do under normal circumstances.
The Leafs also had the less favorable hotel setup, as the percentage of points was used to determine who stayed where. You’ll move into Royal York while the top five Eastern Conference teams (Boston, Tampa, Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) stay at Hotel X – a much more modern hotel with great amenities, including a rooftop pool and tennis courts. It is also in the immediate vicinity of the BMO Field, which is being converted into a kind of outdoor park where players can use grill facilities and green areas to work out or relax.
The Leafs are one of the seven teams that have to take a shuttle there if they want to use it – another example where they are not treated cheaply.
They are even told when to come and go from the Scotiabank Arena. Because health and safety come first, and up to three games a day are played in the building, the NHL sets a scheduled arrival time for each team.
“We know the ice rink, but we will adhere to such strict protocols when boarding and alighting, and we will not be given preferential treatment in terms of hotel or facilities,” said General Manager Kyle Dubas recently. “So I think the league did a pretty good job of keeping that very fair.”
This includes forcing him and team president Brendan Shanahan to cover their ears when Columbus scores.
