Florida Panthers refuse to sell tickets to non-U.S. residents as Leafs ...

1 May 2023

Ticket sales, according to a notice on the Ticketmaster website for Panthers tickets, are restricted to residents of the United States only

Published May 01, 2023  •  Last updated 2 hours ago  •  3 minute read

Erik Gustafsson #56 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate winning Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on an overtime goal by John Tavares #91 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on April 29, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Erik Gustafsson #56 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate winning Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on an overtime goal by John Tavares #91 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on April 29, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs could be in for a rude surprise if they plan to fly down to Florida to catch a game in round two of the NHL playoffs against the Panthers.

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The Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins in an upset Sunday night, setting them up to play the Leafs. The team eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday — the first time long-suffering Leafs fans got to see their team move to round two since 2004.

Yet, fans who want to head to warmer climes to watch the game could be in trouble. Unless they’ve got a U.S. address and credit card.

Ticket sales, according to a notice on the Ticketmaster website for Panthers tickets, are restricted to residents of the United States only. It notes that those from outside the U.S.A. will have their tickets cancelled without notice, and refunds issued.

“Residency will be based on credit card billing address,” the notice says.

Florida is a traditional destination for eastern snowbirds in Canada. Presumably, those who have places in Florida and an American credit card will be able to buy tickets. Or, likely, resellers will have tickets available to any customer who’s got the cash.

Now that Panthers has eliminated the Boston Bruins, the Edmonton Oilers are favoured to win the Stanley Cup.

But, adding a distinctly Canadian flavour, the sports gambling folks have good odds on the Oilers facing off against the Maple Leafs in the final.

Florida Panthers' Carter Verhaeghe (23) celebrates after his goal in overtime during Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Boston. The NHL's Random Outcome Generator strikes again Toronto Maple Leafs fans react after game 7 of NHL playoff hockey against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in Toronto, Saturday, May 14, 2022. Toronto Maple Leafs fans are expected to gather at Maple Leaf Square in downtown Toronto tonight, as the team tries to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Do the Toronto Maple Leafs need to channel their inner Giannis?

MoneyPuck, which does sports betting odds under the sponsorship of Sportsbooks Online US and Betting Sites Canada, gives the Oilers a 42.2 per cent chance of making the Stanley Cup finals, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at 33.5 per cent.

(The Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars all have odds between 23.1 per cent and 27.5 per cent of making it to the finals.)

Come the finals, though, it’s the Oilers who are favoured to win: 23.3 per cent chance, says MoneyPuck, followed by the Leafs at 19.3 per cent and the Hurricanes at 14.4 per cent.

The Panthers’ decision to try and restrict fans is not the first time teams have attempted to restrict ticket sales.

Back in 2015, when the Tampa Bay Lightning played the Chicago Blackhawks, the same notice appeared on Ticketmaster. Additionally, the arena insisted that Blackhawks fans remove their colours, wearing neutral-coloured outfits only, in certain areas of the arena.

Other teams, too, have attempted to keep out Blackhawks fans: In 2013, the Nashville Predators instituted a policy that insisted out-of-towners wanting to come to the games against Chicago had to buy a second ticket as well. This wasn’t just for playoffs, but regular season.

(Blackhawks fans are) going to have to earn it. And they’re going to help us continue to grow our roster by building our (revenue at the) gate. It’s that simple,” CEO of the Predators, said at the time.

The St. Louis Blues also instituted a similar policy, attempting to keep fans of the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings from descending upon the arena on game days.

Ticket sales for the games in Florida were set to go on sale at 11 a.m. ET on Monday. The National Post has reached out to the Florida Panthers, the National Hockey League and Ticketmaster for further comment.

• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: tylerrdawson

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