{"id":907963,"date":"2026-09-24T14:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/907963\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:46:08","slug":"why-maple-leafs-are-flying-to-arizona-before-opening-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/907963\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Maple Leafs are flying to Arizona before Opening Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> are hopping on the private jet, flying to Arizona and squeezing in a long weekend of team bonding before the puck drops on the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new year, fresh start. Wanted to do something different. And (MLSE CEO) Keith Pelley actually brought it up to say, you know, feels like Muskoka is great, everyone loves it, but it\u2019s getting a little stale,\u201d general manager John Chayka explained of the getaway.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s less about time away and more about time with the people, and trying to find the right spot at the right time. So, with the way we travel now, we\u2019re pretty lucky too. Whether we\u2019re stuck in cottage traffic or on a plane, we didn\u2019t feel like it makes a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent seasons, the grind of Maple Leafs training camp has been broken up with two-night detours to Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, Ont., where they\u2019ve held open practices to connect with small-town communities. They\u2019ve also ventured to Collingwood, Ont., or as far as St. John\u2019s, N.L., to train in Septembers past.<\/p>\n

With five days off between Wednesday\u2019s final pre-season split-squad games against Ottawa and Tuesday\u2019s home opener versus Montreal, Brad Lynn, the Leafs\u2019 head of travel, presented a handful of new destinations, including Wisconsin (\u201cJake McCabe was pushing for that,” Chayka said, smiling) and the East Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The decision-makers weighed the pros and cons before pointing the pilot to Scottsdale, home of captain Auston Matthews<\/a>, who loved the idea. Chayka, a former Coyotes GM, still maintains a residence in the area as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s meaningful to Auston: hometown,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cThis is all about getting to know each other better and spending meaningful time together. So, for him, it\u2019s an opportunity to show guys where he grew up and what he means to the community there. And, obviously, nice weather, a chance for guys to go and be themselves and spend some time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NHL group of the Maple Leafs roster, coaches and execs will fly west after Thursday\u2019s skate in Toronto and tuck in an open practice Saturday at ASU\u2019s Mullett Arena between rounds of golf and delicious dinners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthews is hosting his teammates at his off-season home one night, while Chayka has invited the staff over to his.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGet to know each other a little bit on a personal level and have a little bit of fun together,\u201d said Colton Sissons, one of 11(!) new Leafs on the trip. “Every year that I’ve done something like that, it\u2019s been really great. And especially with how many new people are around, getting everybody gelled together is important.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sooner, the better for all that stuff. So, getting everybody comfortable and building those relationships is a big part of this journey. It\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs didn\u2019t embark on their first lengthy road trip until Nov. 22 last season. Behind the scenes, staff wondered if the absence of early getaway bonding contributed to their slow start and fractured culture.<\/p>\n

Pre-season excursions aren\u2019t unique, but travelling three time zones away so close to puck drop is not exactly the norm. (The Leafs will fly home Saturday night, rest Sunday and be back practising on Toronto ice Monday.)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re gonna cross time zones the whole season,\u201d veteran Troy Stecher said. “It\u2019s just one extra flight. It’s not like you\u2019re going down there to play a back-to-back. You\u2019re going down there to have a nice dinner, hang out with your teammates, swing the golf stick, and get a couple practices in. There\u2019s a purpose behind it, for sure, and we\u2019re excited about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery team around the league will do something as a group, just to create those bonds off the ice that carry onto the ice. That\u2019ll be fun. I\u2019m looking forward to it. I know all the guys are looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

OK. But does Chayka have any reservations about a Canadian franchise investing extra money and time in the United States during a heated trade war?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think trade wars are something NHL GMs should weigh in on,\u201d Chayka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s great about sports is, it\u2019s unifying. And no matter what political spectrum you\u2019re on, or what religion you might be, you come to a game, and everyone\u2019s a Leafs fan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Maple Leafs are hopping on the private jet, flying to Arizona and squeezing in a long…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":907964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-907963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}