TSN Analysts rip the NHL for terrible travel schedule harming the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Frozen Frenzy is a huge night for the NHL, but now one glaring issue with playing all 32 teams on one night has been revealed at the expense of the Maple Leafs.
From the Stadium Series to the Winter Classic to the Global Series, the NHL has plenty of big nights on its calendar, but starting last year, one of the biggest has been the Frozen Frenzy. However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is under fire for scheduling the big night up against the Opening Night of the NBA, and now another big issue has come to the fore.
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs were part of the only game of the night down in Tampa Bay, and ahead of their clash with the Columbus Blue Jackets, that issue has been revealed by TSN.
According to the TSN panel, the Leafs arrived in Columbus 'just a few hours' before their battle with the Blue Jackets, which gives the home team a major advantage after the Maple Leafs' solid 4-2-0 start to the year. While Toronto would come away with the win down in Tampa Bay, and they are likely used to rough travel, to arrive in a new city just hours before a game with little time to prepare and little buffer time if something during travel goes wrong, it's an unnecessary thing that a team shouldn't have to worry about.
It's unclear why the NHL didn't go into further depth with their schedule making for such an important night, but this certainly isn't a great look for one of their more marquee teams.
Despite the criticism, everything has been going well thus far for the league during the Frozen Frenzy, with some big fights highlighting some great games thus far, but next year, the hope is that the league don't give clear advantages like this again.
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