Toronto Maple Leafs fans have had no shortage of painful nights, but few sting quite like Feb. 23, 2020.
That was the night the Leafs somehow found themselves on the wrong end of one of the strangest losses in NHL history, falling to emergency backup goalie David Ayres. Ayres was in the building at Scotiabank Arena as the designated emergency option for both teams when the Carolina Hurricanes came to town, and the situation unraveled fast.
James Reimer went down with an injury early, forcing Petr Mrazek into action. Then Mrazek was hurt in the second period after a collision with Kyle Clifford, and suddenly Ayres was the Hurricanes’ last available goalie.
What followed turned into a nightmare for Toronto. Ayres stopped 8 of 10 shots from the Maple Leafs and shut them out on eight straight attempts as Carolina pulled away for a 6-3 win. Ayres, a 42-year-old Zamboni driver who worked as the practice goalie for the Maple Leafs and their AHL affiliate, the Marlies, beat Toronto on its own ice and became the oldest goalie in NHL history to win a game.
That memory isn’t going away anytime soon for Leafs fans, but the league has now put safeguards in place to keep a repeat from happening. Under the new ratified collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, which officially takes effect on Sept. 16, 2026 and runs through 2030, every team will be required to travel with a full-time replacement goalie.
The usual emergency backup rules still apply. The goalie cannot have more than 80 games of experience, cannot have played in the pros during the previous three seasons, and cannot have been on a non-tryout contract. But the big change is simple: both teams will have an emergency goalie available, whether the game is at home or on the road.
That means no more scenario where a team employee ends up suiting up for the opponent in an emergency. For the Maple Leafs, though, the Ayres game will always stand as one of the most brutal low points in franchise history.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Blue Line Question Has Put One Trade Target In Focus
Torontos blue line remains a conversation point as the club looks for ways to add more defensive stability behind its top defenders, and one name that has come into focus is a right-handed shutdown option from Calgary. With the Flames carrying a crowded defensive group, the idea is simple enough: find a defender who can block shots, play physically and bring a steadier edge to the third pair or deeper depth chart without asking for offensive flair.
The appeal is easy to understand from the Leafs side, especially with a player whose game is built around reliability and tough minutes. The wrinkle, of course, is fitting another defenseman into an already tight roster picture, which means any serious pursuit would come with cap gymnastics attached. For a team still weighing how much room it can create and where the biggest needs really are, the interest makes sense even if the path to getting it done does not look especially clean. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Just Got An Atlantic Division Opening They Needed
Brad Marchands offseason has already created a potential ripple in the Atlantic Division, and the Maple Leafs have a reason to pay close attention. Florida has not officially confirmed the exact nature of the issue, but the expectation is that Marchand underwent surgery and could miss the start of the season, a development that matters for a Panthers team Toronto will see again in December.
For the Leafs, any early-season absence from a player of Marchands caliber could alter how the division race begins, especially against a Florida club that has been a direct obstacle in recent years. Even if this does not change the long view of the standings, it gives Toronto a cleaner opening to bank points while one of the Easts most irritating playoff veterans works his way back. [Read more 🡒]
Darryl Sittler Owns A Leafs Feat That May Never Fall
Darryl Sittlers place in Maple Leafs lore already feels secure, but one mark on his resume stands alone in a way that still stops people cold: the most points in a single game by a Toronto player, and in NHL history. On Feb. 7, 1976, he put up 10 points against the Boston Bruins, piling up six goals and four assists in a night that has lived on for nearly half a century as one of the sports most untouchable performances.
What makes the feat linger is not just its scale, but how the game around it has changed since then. Scoring rates have shifted, goaltending has gotten sharper, and the kind of all-out offensive eruption Sittler produced has become harder to imagine, let alone duplicate. For Leafs fans, it is one of those records that does more than survive the passage of time - it quietly reminds every new generation just how exceptional one night in Boston really was. [Read more 🡒]