Boston Pizza teases unofficial name change to honour Leafs, mock Bruins

Boston Pizza isn’t messing around when it comes to an Original Six rivalry.

After Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs overcame years of playoff failure to advance to the second round, Boston Pizza decided to honour the franchise and, in turn, poke fun at Toronto’s long-time rival.

On Monday, a billboard popped up on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway declaring that “Boston’s Out [and] Auston’s In,” accompanied by an unofficial franchise name change from “Boston Pizza” to “Auston Pizza.”

This comes after the Boston Bruins, a team that set an NHL record with 65 wins and 135 points during the regular season, were upset and eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the first round.

Boston Pizza, a Canadian multi-national restaurant chain, has no affiliation with the city of Boston despite past lawsuits with Boston Market over the trademark. 

On Monday, a billboard popped up on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway declaring that “Boston’s Out [and] Auston’s In,” accompanied by an unofficial franchise name change from “Boston Pizza” to “Auston Pizza.” Photo: Boston Pizza. Photo: Boston Pizza.

“We created this billboard to speak directly to our Toronto audience and demonstrate that we are fully committed to supporting them throughout the playoffs,” said Niels Van Oyen, Boston Pizza’s Director of Marketing.

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“We also acknowledge the significance of Toronto’s advancement and the rarity of their bitter rivals losing in a heartbreaking series.”

The Maple Leafs eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games following Saturday’s thrilling 2-1 overtime win. It’s the first time Toronto has advanced past the first round of the NHL playoffs since 2004. For Boston, it’s the first time the franchise failed to move past the first round since the 2016-17 season.

“When we looked at the fact that Boston has no further relevance in the 2023 playoffs (sorry, not sorry), and Toronto has finally made it beyond the first round, Fanalytics indicated that this billboard and accompanying name change was the right play,” said Cam Boyd, Executive Creative Director at john st.

The Leafs host the Panthers in Game 1 of the second round at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, live on Sportsnet.