The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that 550 fully vaccinated healthcare workers will be allowed to attend the team’s next game. This is fantastic as the game against the Montreal Canadiens is sure to be hard-fought on both sides. Sportsnet announced the huge news Monday morning.
BREAKING: Ontario will allow 550 fully vaccinated frontline healthcare workers to attend Game 7 between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens in Toronto.https://t.co/wOOsfIe5ev
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 31, 2021
Some Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Present for Game 7
The 550 figure obviously isn’t massive, but is will be the most people to watch a game live in Toronto in 2020-21 . It’s good that the Leafs will have any fans at all. They are nearing a total collapse against a grittier Canadiens squad that has pushed things to a pivotal game seven. The team will surely want every little bit of enthusiasm it can get after faltering in front of Habs fans earlier this month.
It also also a fantastic gesture of goodwill that these healthcare workers will pay nothing to attend. The Canadian system, like many across the world, has been stretched thin during the pandemic. Allowing a very small percentage of total attendance to watch a huge game for free is really the least everyone can do. It is merely the first step in allowing more people to hopefully attend games should Toronto advance to play the Winnipeg Jets.
What This Means
There isn’t much greater meaning with this move right now. While it is tremendous that team and government officials were able to craft and execute this proposal, it doesn’t change a lot by itself. The country is still far more aggressive in limiting fan attendance compared to the United States. It’s unclear if this move will lead to more fans attending games in Canada. It could merely just end up being a goodwill move. Regardless of the long term impact, it will be nice to hear fans in Scotiabank arena for the first time since early 2020.
