Toronto During the NHL Hockey Playoffs: the Toronto Maple Leafs, and what you should expect the city to be like

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the playoffs! The city will feel completely electrifying, so watch out during your Niagara Falls tour from Toronto.

Toronto: One of the most multicultural city in the world.
Toronto: The home of Niagara Falls Tours with Queen Tour.
Toronto: The city with a lot of nicknames. T.O., Hogtown, Toronto the Good, T-Dot…
Toronto: Probably your first answer to the question “name a city in Canada”.
Toronto: What you probably think is Canada’s capital city (It’s actually Ottawa!).
Toronto: The home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, our beloved hockey team which will be in the playoffs for the first time in 9 years. That’s right- it’s been 9 years which means the city will be excited like never before, and everyone visiting Toronto in the coming weeks is in for a special treat!

Like football (or soccer) is to most of the world, like baseball is to the United States, hockey is the great Canadian pastime. What looks like a bunch of skaters holding sticks chasing after a little shadow on ice to most of the world, Canadians- especially Torontonians, hold dear. To us it’s a hockey stick. That shadow is the puck. Those skaters are forwards, defenders, and goalies.

There are a lot of Canadian teams competing for the Stanley Cup championships this year, starting Tuesday, April 30. But they are not Toronto. The Toronto Maple Leafs have not made the playoffs in nine years. The post-season hasn’t even started yet and the city already feels electrifying. From hockey talk in the gym change room to a petition to make the CN Tower light up for every goal scored by the Leafs, the city is oozing with excitement. So…

What should you expect for Toronto in May (and possibly) June 2013?

• A whole lot of Toronto Maple Leaf flags sticking out of car windows.
• Everyone will suddenly be wearing a blue sweater with a white maple leaf on it (the jersey).
• Random honking throughout the evening (if you’re not watching the game, you’ll know how many goals Toronto scores just by all the cars honking their horns with every point!).
• People will be happier, friendlier and excited: get ready for conversations with strangers.
• The cities entire atmosphere in Toronto will change: you will feel the excitement.
• Did you make a new Facebook friend that lives here? If so you can expect hockey updates all night long.
• You’ll be hearing the names Kadri, Kessel, Lupul, Phaneuf and Reimer a whole lot.
• If you know English, get used to reading GO LEAFS GO… Everywhere you go.
• If you don’t know English that well, you will be fluent in saying GO LEAFS GO.

The Good Old Hockey Game: A hint of Canadian culture