The Utah Hockey Club ditched the bus in Toronto on Sunday night to make the pregame meeting. Due to heavy traffic, the Utah Hockey Club’s bus was no longer a viable option for transportation. Deadlocked on the road, the Utah players walked the rest of the way to make the matchup late last night.
Utah Players Hoof It To the Game
On Sunday night, the Utah Hockey Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs were set to face off in the Hogtown (Toronto’s nickname). The Toronto Maple Leafs currently stand at 13-6-2 while the Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, has a season record of 8-10-3 thus far. During the Utah Hockey Club’s transit to Scotiabank (Toronto’s arena), their bus came to a complete stop. The traffic nearly defeated the Utah club before their game had even started.
A heavily populated event held in Toronto earlier in the day created bumper-to-bumper traffic. Toronto’s 120th annual Santa Claus Parade took to the streets for the majority of the day, hindering the Utah Hockey Club’s prompt arrival. At the risk of missing the 5:15 p.m. pregame meeting, the Utah hockey club ditched the wheels and took to the streets in formal attire to get to the arena. On the Utah Hockey Club’s TikTok, defenseman Maveric Lamoureux highlighted the odd event stating, “I think that’s a first for everyone. Never saw that before”.
Did Santa Claus and the Maple Leafs Conspire Against Utah?
Given the anticipation over the game, many were left to wonder if the Maple Leafs and Santa Claus had struck a deal behind the curtains to throw Utah off their game. Although the conspiracy theory is an entertaining thought, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow put the theories to bed, reiterating: that Santa Claus and the Maple Leafs did not conspire against the Utah Hockey Club. All jokes aside, the gridlocked traffic infamous in Toronto, nearly costs the city $11 billion a year.
Utah Hockey Club: Zero Toronto Traffic: One
While Utah was ultimately defeated by the Toronto traffic, they unfortunately were defeated again by the Toronto Maple Leafs later in the evening 3-2. The phrase that comes to mind is “beating a dead horse.” Even though the general public’s reaction to the silly event is lighthearted and comical, some are embarrassed and thoroughly irritated by the debilitating Toronto traffic. Scotiabank is the prime location for many events, including a concert last summer showcasing One Direction’s Niall Horan, who also had to ditch his bus to make his concert on time.
