In his speech to Parliament on Friday, President of the United States Joe Biden noted, “I like your [hockey] teams, except the Leafs.” Noting he’s not a Maple Leafs’ guy while most of the room gave him a standing ovation, Biden added, “I’ll tell you why… They beat the Flyers in January, that’s why,” Biden noted as he tried to clarify his remarks. “I married a Philly girl; if I didn’t say that, I’d be sleeping alone, fellas. I like you, but not that much.”
As expected, the comments have gone viral on social media and have been picked up by every major Canadian news outlet, most of which are known for extensively covering the Maple Leafs. The team is widely known as “the center of the hockey universe”, in part because they get more Canadian coverage than any other team and are considering one of the most important franchises in the NHL. In fact, the fan base is so passionate about the team, regardless of their lack of playoff success, if anyone utters a bad word about the club — outside of its own fan base — it’s considered blasphemy. So, when the POTUS said what he said, it’s no surprise the comments were everywhere within a matter of minutes.
Ultimately, the Leafs will get the last laugh when it comes to the Flyers. Toronto holds second place in the Atlantic Division at 43-19-9 with 95 points through 71 games. The Flyers are going to miss the postseason and undertake a massive rebuild as the team makes personnel changes and looks to hire a permanent GM and President for the team.
For fans anywhere but Toronto, there’s been some fun with the fact that the team everyone is supposed to love so much got put on blast by the most powerful man in the world while he was visiting Canada, where the Leafs are considered by many to be the be all and end all of the hockey teams.
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