Maple Leafs host 1st annual outdoor practice since Jan. 2020

TORONTO -- John Tavares dared to dream as he looked in awe at the thousands of fans who came out to watch his Toronto Maple Leafs outdoor practice on a sun-splashed Sunday at Nathan Phillips Square.

It was here, in the shadows of Toronto City Hall, that the Toronto Raptors celebrated their NBA championship with a rally that culminated in a parade that drew an estimated crowd of more than one million on June 17, 2019.
Now, almost four years later, the Maple Leafs captain hopes he and his teammates will be the object of a similar party at this same venue in a few months for bringing home the franchise's first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Easier said than done, he said. Still …
"Absolutely. You think about that all the time," said Tavares, who was born in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke and grew up 15 miles west of the city in Oakville. "But there's a lot of work ahead, one day at a time, and continuing our growth as a group. We've got to be better and challenging each other.
"But certainly, that's what we're working toward. There's no doubt from time to time those thoughts come across your mind but, as I said, we're trying to stay in the moment right now."

So is Sheldon Keefe, the Maple Leafs coach who was born and grew up in Brampton, Ontario, 30 miles northwest of Toronto. The 42-year-old understands what the franchise means to this area and, to that end, what a celebration here signifying the end of its 56-year Cup drought would mean.
Toronto (32-14-8) is second in the Atlantic Division with 72 points, 11 behind the first-place Boston Bruins, and is coming off a 4-3 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, a result Keefe obviously was not happy with. But even that defeat couldn't spoil his enjoyment of the enthusiastic vibe permeating through the crowd on a day that produced un-February-like 42-degree Fahrenheit temperatures.
"Certainly, we think about that a lot," Keefe said when asked if he could envision a Maple Leafs Cup celebration on these same grounds one day.
"Certainly, I think the biggest thing is you just get a greater feel. It's a different feeling than playing in an arena. When you're out there and you see this many people coming out like this, you see that you're not just playing for yourselves, but for these people and for your community.
"Just to see and feel the love is awesome," he added.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time the Maple Leafs were able to hold their annual outdoor practice at Nathan Phillips Square since Jan. 9, 2020.
One of the goalies on that bone-chilling afternoon was David Ayres, who often served as the EBUG (emergency backup goaltender) for Toronto home games at Scotiabank Arena. Just 45 days later he was called into a game for the Carolina Hurricanes and played the final 28:41of a 6-3 victory against the Maple Leafs, making him the oldest goaltender (42 years, 194 days) to win his NHL regular-season debut.
On this day, neither Ilya Samsonov nor Joseph Woll, Toronto's regular goalies, were on the ice at the city hall rink. That opened the door for Brendan Bonello and Andrew D'Agostini, the team's practice goalies, to get their day in the sunshine.
Like they had three years earlier, the team rode the subway two stops from Union Station, next to Scotiabank Arena, to City Hall, much to the amazement of gawking riders.
"It's cool, it's really easy, it's nice to be with the folks," Keefe said. "A great way to move about the city as we know. To have our guys in full gear and see people react was cool."
And when it comes to being cool, forward Mitchell Marner fit the bill by wearing a pair of blue mirrored sunglasses on the ice, just a week after he'd worn shades and a white sports jacket as part of a Miami Vice look at 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in Sunrise, Fla.
"It's right up Mitchy's path," Tavares said with a chuckle. "It was pretty bright out there today.
"The glare was heavy out there, so he made the right play, which isn't surprising."