Multiple Maple Leafs Spotted Taking an Unnecessary Risk Right Before the Playoffs

Only a single game remains for the Toronto Maple Leafs before the real fun begins, as they are set to battle their divisional foes, the Ottawa Senators, in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It will mark the 1st Battle of Ontario since 2004, a tightly-contested 7-game series that the Leafs came out on top in.

But, before tonight's game against the Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena, multiple members of the Maple Leafs were seen in the pre-game warmup choosing not to wear their helmets.

Among the players choosing to forgo the wearing of their helmets were Chris Tanev, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Max Domi; they all normally do wear their helmets during the pre-game warmups, making the sight all the more unusual.

Helmets must be worn by all NHL players who came into the League starting in 2019-20; players who had already been in place prior may choose not to.

Over the years, there have been a handful of incidents during pre-game warmups that led to the new rule being grandfathered in. Perhaps the most notable was the injury that Taylor Hall suffered while a member of the Edmonton Oilers in 2012; he lost his footing and fell to the ice at the exact moment teammate Corey Potter was skating by. Potter's skate blade cut Hall above his eyebrow and up his skull, leaving a massive cut that required multiple stitches.

Granted, these types of incidents do not occur frequently, but they do occur. We have seen similar incidents where players without helmets have been hit in the head by pucks, either by an errant shot or a ricochet.

For a Leafs team who is believed to be on track to enter the playoffs relatively healthy, it just wasn't a smart risk to take, even though nothing came of it.