The Maple Leafs saw the final moments in Philadelphia just before they took off back to Toronto following their win against the Flyers on Saturday.
It was hard not to be distracted.
While the Toronto Maple Leafs were battling the Philadelphia Flyers in a 5-2 victory on Saturday, players were scrambling to catch the remaining moments of the Toronto Blue Jays game as they attempted to win their first World Series in 32 years.
The Blue Jays carried a lead going into the ninth until a Miguel Rojas solo home run tied the game and forced extra innings. The Jays had two painful opportunities to win it: first, the Isiah Kiner-Falefa run to home plate that missed the force out by mere millimetres. And then, the dramatic fly out with runners in scoring position, where Los Angeles' Andy Pages collided with Kiké Hernandez to save the championship with a metaphorically appropriate body check.
The Leafs saw most of this heartbreak as they were taxiing on the runway in Philadelphia before flying home. Their window to leave was delayed a bit as they awaited defenseman Chris Tanev, who left the game on a stretcher and ended up staying overnight for further tests before flying home. Before that, they were watching and reacting in the locker room before changing and doing post-game interviews.
“It was heartbreaking, but I think as a fan, and certainly I can speak for a lot of people around the city, the fan base is extremely proud of the type of team,” John Tavares said of the Jays. “I think that's the big emphasis, is what a team that was, and the contributions from everybody, and how they all relied on each other. I think you certainly saw how close they were and how they laid it all out there.”
“They left everything out there. Obviously, we're extremely close, which is probably why it stings and hurts so much because of how close they were, how well they played, and just how they laid it all on the line. But just a great team overall.”
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“I don’t know them but even I felt like I was part of that loss,” Steven Lorentz told The Hockey News.
Lorentz, along with William Nylander, did not play on Saturday due to injury. Both players kept one eye on their team from the press box at Xfinity Mobile Arena and the other on a screen showing the Jays game, which began about an hour after puck drop.
“They did an unbelievable job. I thought they won like two, three times that day so it was crazy,” Nylander said. “But they did an unbelievable job, just battling and competing. It sucks to lose in Game 7, but I think they did a tremendous job.”
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Now that the Jays are no longer in the Toronto sports spotlight, the Maple Leafs must look for lessons from their World Series run. As coach Craig Berube, who coached the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup title in 2019, knows, winning starts with culture.
“It’s camaraderie, good teammates. I think it’s just guys who look forward to coming to the locker room, being around the rink, and being around each other. We have that,” Berube said. “I mean, these guys really like each other, and so the locker room is fine.”
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