The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their trudge toward the end of the 2025-26 NHL regular season, which will end without a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016.
While they remain mathematically alive for the time being, it won’t be long before their reservation on the outside looking in at the postseason is officially confirmed.
The Maple Leafs are on the west coast and will take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday evening. However, a near-disaster struck their team hotel: an earthquake.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Team Hotel In San Jose Was Struck By An Earthquake
Veteran Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly admitted that he was “rattled” by the experience, but not for the reason you might think. He said he’s actually disappointed that the alert on his phone didn’t wake him up because, as he put it, he’s always wanted to feel an earthquake.
“I’m rattled, I was woken up to the alert on my phone, and I was pissed I didn’t wake up, because I’ve always wanted to feel one,” Rielly said. “A few of the guys did, but I did not unfortunately. I was snoozing pretty hard.”
When asked if it was a hot topic of discussion amongst the players during practice, Rielly said that at least half of the players were woken up by the phone alerts.
“A little bit, we were all like, ‘Oh, did you feel it?” I feel like it’s 50-50 on whether guys woke up.
“Obviously pretty crazy, first time doing that,” said Easton Cowan. “Pretty shocking, honestly. I didn’t really know, I just kind of looked out of my door to see what was up, and went back to bed, but found out this morning.”
There is one player on the Maple Leafs, forward Steven Lorentz, who has previously experienced an earthquake. Lorentz played for the Sharks in 2022-23, and this wasn’t his first go-around.
“It woke me up, and I thought the whole place was coming down, but fortunately it’s not my first one here,” said Lorentz. “It’s kind of weird like that. I don’t want to say that it’s cool because it’s kind of scary, but I guess I’m an earthquake survivor again.”
However, one figure on the Maple Leafs who admitted he didn’t feel a thing and was surprised to find out about the event in the morning was head coach Craig Berube.
“I didn’t, no clue, I was out,” Berube explained. “Guys told me this morning, and I was like, “Really? I didn’t feel anything…I slept through it.’”
The Maple Leafs Recently Made A Major Change At The Executive Level
Following what has been a season plagued by inconsistent play, the Maple Leafs made a major change at the executive level earlier in the week with the dismissal of general manager Brad Treliving.
It’s been one of the most jarring seasons in recent memory for the Maple Leafs, who have also experienced numerous injuries to top players.
There could be more sweeping changes on the way during the offseason.
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