Why Do the Leafs Play So Many Saturday Home Games?

[boredmale]

this is a lil pet peeve of mine but because i live in Canada i notice the leafs play alot of Saturday home games(i did the research, they play 16 Home games compared to 9 Away Games this year).

Fact is the leafs don't have any problems selling out the Air Canada Center on any given day, and Saturday is probably the easiest day to sell tickets(for other teams). Why would the league give the Leafs all the "sweet days" instead of trying give teams in weaker markets a better chance of selling tickets?

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[go_leafs_go02]

Leafs = Ratings = Good.

And its been discussed here many times before..including in the last few weeks.

 

[boredmale]

Leafs = Ratings = Good.

Yeah but what difference does it make where the leafs play weither it be at home or away for TV purposes. Fact is they have almost double the amount of Home games compared to Away game(which are a much easier ticket for alot of markets to sell) on saturdays.

Wouldn't it be smart from a business sense for the league to give weaker teams(in terms of attendence) more home games on saturday when it's easier to sell tickets?

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

this is a lil pet peeve of mine but because i live in Canada i notice the leafs play alot of Saturday home games(i did the research, they play 16 Home games compared to 9 Away Games this year).

Fact is the leafs don't have any problems selling out the Air Canada Center on any given day, and Saturday is probably the easiest day to sell tickets(for other teams). Why would the league give the Leafs all the "sweet days" instead of trying give teams in weaker markets a better chance of selling tickets?

It's part of NHL history. The Habs and Leafs have always traditionally been at home for the most part on Saturday's except when they play eachother.

 

[Rayne*]

It's because the Leafs are the "centre of the universe", hence we MUST tune into their lackluster games every saturday night.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Ya just can't have Hockey Night in Toronto without the Leafs.

 

[Tookhavlatandtanguay*]

CBC throws money the NHLs way.

 

[Gallagbi]

It's because the Leafs are the "centre of the universe", hence we MUST tune into their lackluster games every saturday night.

By my quick count Montreal's up 19-8 on saturday night games. I think the first reason would be tradition for both MTL and TOR being at home, second, CBC airs the games and they have an easier timing using their "home field advantage".
H -19
A - 8

 

[GKJ]

By my quick count Montreal's up 19-8 on saturday night games. I think the first reason would be tradition for both MTL and TOR being at home, second, CBC airs the games and they have an easier timing using their "home field advantage".
H -19
A - 8

Toronto is always the national game though.

 

[sensens]

Wouldn't it be smart from a business sense for the league to give weaker teams(in terms of attendence) more home games on saturday when it's easier to sell tickets?

It would certainly make business sense for the other teams in the NHL, but not business sense to the CBC (travel, extra costs, etc) - and that's just if you subscribe to the notion that the rest of the country is just dying to watch the Leafs virtually every single week. I've often been very critical of the CBC in the past for not at least giving the six Canadian teams even remotely equal billing on their supposedly national broadcast... especially with a declared mandate of promoting national culture. Would it be so ridiculous to try to influence the NHL schedule-makers to have Ottawa/Montréal/Toronto and Calgary/Edmonton/Vancouver scheduled such that each of them were on a national Saturday night broadcast at least once every three weeks? I'm sure that coordinating facility events in six different cities like that would be more difficult than it appears on the surface, but at least an effort towards such an idea would at least approach fairness in light of the fact that there are actually six full-blown NHL teams in this country.

 

[bcrt2000]

It's because the Leafs are the "centre of the universe", hence we MUST tune into their lackluster games every saturday night.

hey hey, to be fair I get Habs games every saturday as well (in french) in Toronto... but I do miss the days when they used to show more than the Leafs on the first Saturday Night game, and I also miss the fact that CBC never does any special mid-week games anymore

 

[mooseOAK*]

When you add up the people tuning in that hope that the Leafs win to the people that hope that the Leafs lose then that pretty well maximizes the CBC's ratings.

 

[boredmale]

I just want to say the point of this thread is not about CBC showing leaf games every saturday night, that is a completely different discussion. I am just asking why they have an uneven amount of home games on a night that ticket sales are usually the highest.

Somebody brought up Montreal has a huge amount of Saturday home games, that issue should be addressed as well(or for any team that has a huge gap between home and away saturday games).

The only logical arguement so far was that CBC pays a huge fee to have alot of leaf home games so it cuts down on travel expenses.

As for the post above how they used to show leafs one week, then montreal the next. I think that was in the late 80s when the leafs sucked. That being said i am supised the CBC doesn't do regional coverage likethey used to do(this area gets the montreal game, that area get the toronto game).

 

[Poignant Discussion*]

this is a lil pet peeve of mine but because i live in Canada i notice the leafs play alot of Saturday home games(i did the research, they play 16 Home games compared to 9 Away Games this year).

Fact is the leafs don't have any problems selling out the Air Canada Center on any given day, and Saturday is probably the easiest day to sell tickets(for other teams). Why would the league give the Leafs all the "sweet days" instead of trying give teams in weaker markets a better chance of selling tickets?

It can be answered by one word

Tradition

 

[Moon Man*]

It can be answered by one word

Tradition

..and that's it... to expand slightly...

Hockey Night in Canada and 50 years of tradition.

Kind of grating to fans of other teams... but that's how it was, is and forever shall be.

 

[Scoogs]

I don't understand why people are talking about ratings. The question was why do they seem to always play at the ACC?

 

[Resolute]

CBC is good at this. Usually, their Canada only extends as far wast as Thunder Bay. On NHIT, their Canada doesnt extend past the GTA.

If it wasnt for TSN, nobody would know there is another team in Ontario.

 

[shakes]

With the exception of a couple, the teams that play the Leafs at home on Saturday should have no trouble selling tickets anyway. (Philly, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York) Or are you trying to say that the Leafs should be a travelling road show to increase attendance in other buildings?

 

[shakes]

CBC is good at this. Usually, their Canada only extends as far wast as Thunder Bay. On NHIT, their Canada doesnt extend past the GTA.

If it wasnt for TSN, nobody would know there is another team in Ontario.

This thread has NOTHING to do with HNIC.

 

[Greaves]

The funny thing about it is...the people at CBC seem to think everyone across Canada wants to watch the Leafs. They seem to have this misconception that the Leafs are Canada's team...which is complete crap. I've never seen another team hated more by most Canadians then the Maple Leafs. To take this hatred to another level...this extends to their parents as well.

You would think CBC would grow a brain and show Ottawa games nationally on the grounds that they put a better, faster, and more talented product on the ice then the Leafs.

Of course there ARE people across Canada that loves the Leafs but the majority hates them. And when I say hate, I mean that those people would pick any team over the Leafs. For me? I hate Philly with a dirty passion (always been a Pens fan), but I would have to say I'd root for them over the Leafs...in fact I'd root for any team over the Leafs.

 

[Resolute]

This thread has NOTHING to do with HNIC.

You keep trying to convince yourself of that.

The NHL schedules the Leafs at home so often specifically because CBC wants them on HNIT. The times they are on the road, they usually are in another Canadian city. This is not the work of a completely random computer generated schedule.

 

[shakes]

The funny thing about it is...the people at CBC seem to think everyone across Canada wants to watch the Leafs. They seem to have this misconception that the Leafs are Canada's team...which is complete crap. I've never seen another team hated more by most Canadians then the Maple Leafs. To take this hatred to another level...this extends to their parents as well.

You would think CBC would grow a brain and show Ottawa games nationally on the grounds that they put a better, faster, and more talented product on the ice then the Leafs.

Of course there ARE people across Canada that loves the Leafs but the majority hates them. And when I say hate, I mean that those people would pick any team over the Leafs. For me? I hate Philly with a dirty passion (always been a Pens fan), but I would have to say I'd root for them over the Leafs...in fact I'd root for any team over the Leafs.

This thread has NOTHING to do with HNIC.. seriously, does anyone actually read the content of the threads anymore or do they just see Leafs and come to bash.

 

[shakes]

You keep trying to convince yourself of that.

The NHL schedules the Leafs at home so often specifically because CBC wants them on HNIT. The times they are on the road, they usually are in another Canadian city. This is not the work of a completely random computer generated schedule.

The CBC can ask the NHL all they want to have the Leafs on Saturday night, but ultimately it's up to the NHL. At least the NHL still values tradition or do you think the CBC has nude pics of Gary and Ted?

The times they are on the road, they usually are in another Canadian city

4 of the 9 away games are in the US of A.

 

[arrbez]

considering it's not really any sort of competitive advantage, I'm not sure why it's such a big deal to stick with tradition on this one. it just means that Toronto does more travelling during the week...

 

[Gallagbi]

The funny thing about it is...the people at CBC seem to think everyone across Canada wants to watch the Leafs. They seem to have this misconception that the Leafs are Canada's team...which is complete crap. I've never seen another team hated more by most Canadians then the Maple Leafs. To take this hatred to another level...this extends to their parents as well.

You would think CBC would grow a brain and show Ottawa games nationally on the grounds that they put a better, faster, and more talented product on the ice then the Leafs.

Of course there ARE people across Canada that loves the Leafs but the majority hates them. And when I say hate, I mean that those people would pick any team over the Leafs. For me? I hate Philly with a dirty passion (always been a Pens fan), but I would have to say I'd root for them over the Leafs...in fact I'd root for any team over the Leafs.

Doesn't this mean people want to watch. You always have a team to root for right? You either really want the Leafs to win, or really want to see them get the crap kicked out of them. As a Leafs fan, I don't like the Habs or Sens, so I'll watch them play anyone because I have someone to cheer and I will watch the entire game. If it's Calgary vs. SJ, I couldn't care less, I'll flip back and forth, but there is no interest for me outside of the game. I don't care who wins, the score doesn't matter, realistically the play of each individual doesn't really matter much either. The Leafs are the biggest draw in Canada, I think it's a misconception that HNIC plays Toronto games because they are so popular. I think they play them because of the general interest. People Love AND Hate them. Everyone seems to be passionate one way or the other. Not many teams can say that.

I do think they have an extremely large following, likely the largest, it's just it isn't a majority following. They likely have more fans than any other team, but they have more anti-Leaf fans then they have fans.