For as long as I have been watching hockey, and more specifically the Toronto Maple Leafs, they have been on every Saturday during the regular season on Hockey Night in Canada. That is, unless the All Star Game is on that weekend or Christmas or Christmas Eve are on a Saturday. This season though, there are three regular Saturdays when the Leafs will not make an appearance on the historic broadcasts. Saturday, December 13th and 27th and also Saturday, January 17th.
For a station that commonly is accused of being favourable to the Leafs, this is certainly a surprising turn of events. I don't know if this is how the NHL schedule just worked out, or if CBC passed on the Leafs to broadcast the Senators and Canadiens instead.
For the last 20 years or so, a Leaf fan would know that he or she could sit down in front of the TV at 7PM and turn on Hockey Night in Canada and know that the Leafs will be playing. They may not know who the opponent will be, or where the game will be played, but they did know it was at 7 on Hockey Night in Canada. Even during the last 2 seasons, when the Leafs have been terrible, the game was still broadcast only to the Toronto region. Not this year. This is truly a sign of just how bad the Leafs are expected to be.
Saturday's which will not feature the Leafs:
December 13 - Washington @ Montreal / Tampa Bay @ Ottawa
December 27 - Montreal @ Pittsburgh
January 17 - Montreal @ Ottawa
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