Maple Leafs playoff tickets in Florida restricted to U.S. residents
Some bad news for anyone who was hoping to take a trip to Florida to catch the Toronto Maple Leafs in playoff action.
Information on the Ticketmaster website for the Maple Leafs round two road games against the Florida Panthers stipulates any orders by individuals who don’t live in the United States will not be accepted.
“Orders by residents outside of the U.S. will be cancelled without notice and refunds given,” reads event information on the Ticketmaster purchase page. “Residency will be based on credit card billing address.”
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There is no explanation from the site as to why Canadians are being restricted, but the move is likely an attempt by the team to preserve home-ice advantage and make sure the local crowd stays on the home team’s side.
Toronto is getting a second straight Florida-based playoff opponent after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Leafs nation was ever-present in the Tampa series with one fan going viral for his reaction to the team’s Game 4 overtime win.
Canadian snowbirds with American addresses will still be able to buy tickets, meaning a blue-and-white takeover at Sunrise’s FLA Live Arena is still a possibility. For anyone determined to make the trip, tickets will still be available on secondary market websites like Stubhub.
The Panthers, who qualified for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, moved into the second round by stunning the President’s Trophy winning Boston Bruins. The Panthers won three in a row after falling behind 3-1 in the series to advance in the postseason for just the second time since they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1996.
The second round series will begin at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tuesday night. The full schedule for the remainder of the games is expected to be released Monday evening.
