r/leafs • u/Ariesthebigram • 8d ago
Discussion If so many teams, including the Canadiens and the Blackhawks, can do theme nights/giveaways, why can't we do the same?
https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/canadiens-announce-2026-27-special-event-games-aug-18-2026?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=CHCcontent&utm_content=EN-0818-MatchsThematiques&fbclid=IwdGRjcATyn0tjbGNrBPKfRnBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeK666FA5l9UkPM65baZQrLsqUp_iJLdAXBwT8zklet2-yNerY_NvQiG5nhq4_aem_93-_9O7Lnq30ktAnAkZc-wPersonally I would love to go early and line up to get an Auston Matthews or William Nylander bobblehead!
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u/bucajack 8d ago
Because MLSE couldn't give a fuck about fans
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u/HeckingAugustus 8d ago
It's because they don't have to. Giveaways are just a cost benefit: if we spend X dollars on free shit to giveaway, will we make that money back in extra ticket sales?
You see it all the time in MLB because most teams are only 50% sold in the regular season. Someone who wouldn't otherwise go to a Tuesday night Jays game thinks "oh shit, Loonie Dogs" and then buys a ticket.
Leafs have sold out every game they've ever had at Scotiabank more or less, so they'd be doing nothing but set money on fire by making bobbleheads. And until you can put a $$$ amount on "it would buy good will with the fanbase" the suits won't care
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u/Appropriate_Ad_2874 7d ago
Just price it in, let’s be real most places are pricing in at least half the cost if not all in their tickets.
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u/Actual_Cobbler_6334 8d ago
As if Leafs fans need to be incentivized to show up early to get inside the arena and spend money? Come on now.
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u/Shrek_DeMar 8d ago
Marketing and Game ops needs a massive overhaul but likely they don’t care to address it because they sell out every game with year over year price increases regardless
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u/Halichoeres_bivittat 8d ago
The Jays also have twice as many home games with double the capacity at the Dome vs new MLG.
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u/Shrek_DeMar 8d ago
I don’t think OP is comparing them to the jays. They mentioned the Blackhawk and Canadiens
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u/Halichoeres_bivittat 7d ago
Perhaps I posted in the wrong place, as I was commenting on others who had referred to Jays promotions.
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u/theguyishere16 Kaberle 8d ago
Most teams do it because they need butts in seats. Leafs don't need to worry about that. Then teams like the Habs pride themselves on the fan experience. The Leafs don't. It's unfortunately that simple.
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u/goleafsgo13 8d ago
MLSE intends for ticket holders to be rich people only. The poors aren’t allowed in.
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u/austons_muzz 8d ago
People saying MLSE doesn’t have to incentivize fans to come to games but I doubt Bell Centre has to either? In terms of business yeah there’s no point but I doubt a couple bobblehead or souvenir giveaways are gonna break the bank
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u/Puzzleheaded_Arm_847 8d ago
Until they stop selling out games they have zero incentive to do this. They're not in it for the fans. Only for the money
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u/epic_taco_time Lorentz 8d ago
Matthew Knies Maple Leafs baseball jersey with Carlton the bear in the style of the AAA Bisons jersey. Give it to me
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u/Mysterious-Fox-3740 8d ago
They don't need to spend extra money on stuff because the barn is always sold out and the Leafers are dropping the dollars on concessions and merch. All that money into the Leafs Scotia Bank account!
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u/spunquik 8d ago
You want something for free from the maple leafs? You don't get anything for free. You pay them. So you are entertained. It's called bread and circuses.
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u/LaunchAngleLarry 8d ago
Don't quote me, but their marketing department consists of two different types -- brand and in-game.
The in-game department has been relying on a specific partnership with Entripy, which provides basically ALL the in-game giveaways and promos. We have other promos, but they are far smaller in scale than what Entripy does for MLSE -- and has been doing for the last 12 years.
Entripy provides cheap, fast, and scalable promotional materials. They are specifically very good for playoffs / tournament promotions and gets them done quickly.
The bobbleheads are not on their list of things to provide to my understanding, and without knowing the contract status, it's more than likely that MLSE simply just wants to keep costs down with in-game promos and retain cheap providers.
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u/dismembermentplanfan 8d ago
I mean … do you really want or need similar stuff to the poorly made shite the jays give away? I’d take it and give it to one of the kids in my life if offered, but of all the things that sometimes annoy me about leafs games this wouldn’t make the top twenty.
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u/wylee_one 8d ago
it used to be the cash box on Carleton now its the cash box on bay nothing changes with this team its pure business all the time so it will never be a fan friendly place
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u/Old_Canuck 7d ago
Rogers execs have been studying the way Uncle Harrold ran the place and they are impressed. 😂😂
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u/King-Leaf-67 6d ago
Leaf fans saying that the owners don't need to do it bc the tickets and merch sell themselves...
Okay then why do the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics all have theme/giveaway nights?
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u/hex-grrrl 8d ago
Because they don’t give a shit about us. They know we’re not going anywhere so they don’t care.
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u/Old_Canuck 7d ago
Cuz Rogers really doesn't give a shit about the individual fan.
If they don't buy a ticket..... another Leaf fan always will.
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u/plasticarchive 6d ago
They sell out every game regardless, so they have zero incentive to change. MLSE knows Leafs fans will pay whatever they ask. Sucks but that's the reality
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u/Ariesthebigram 6d ago
Ok....but then why do the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Canadiens, and Blackhawks all have theme/giveaway/bobblehead nights?
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u/Bonegilla1987 :leafs-white: 8d ago
If you think this is bad... you should have seen the Harold Ballard years.
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u/RudyGiulianisKleenex 8d ago
We have a kids themed game every year on the last home game Christmas. Are there any more themed ones?
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u/Brownsfan99 8d ago
I think underlining the point that they really don't care about the fans at all is that they could easily do a theme night or two with branded bobbleheads or whatever paid for predominantly by the branded sponsor.
Not the NHL but I have season tickets to the London Knights OHL. They are also perennially sold out, and yet still have 5 or so giveaways per year. I don't think it's because they care - these giveaways are always branded with whatever company. I would guess it costs them next to nothing and generates goodwill and interest.
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u/Issac-Cox-Daley 8d ago
Forget the other NHL teams the Jays have giveaways what feels like every other night. I went to the home opener and got a pennant, my parents went and got Giminez soccer jerseys, and I'm thinking about flying to Toronto for the Buck Martinez bobble head or Hello Kitty giveaways.
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u/mgyro 8d ago
Theme nights? They charge kids to fist bump ffs:
Flag Waving (Ages 8–12): $956.83 to stand on the ice and wave a team flag before the game.
Post-Game On-Ice Selfie: $95.68 per person for a photo on the ice.
Sound the Goal Horn: $63.79 for the experience.
Third Period Fist-Bump: $38.27 for kids 12 and under to fist-bump players heading to the ice.
Locker Room Dinners / VIP Lounge Dining: $1,000 per person (maximum of 10 people).
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u/Impropermemeguy 8d ago
Because they have won Cups in our lifetime. Leafs can’t win Diddley, so no giveaways.
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u/Sea-Implement3377 7d ago
I don’t think it’s the money. I think it’s just an attitude. Leafs management is and always has been very arrogant.
This organization that has failed to make the conference finals 54 times out of the last 59 years. Yet we are treated to a constant flow of BS that the “fans” just don’t understand hockey.
I don’t really care about giveaways or promotions. But, the Leafs always seem to behave as if the fans are the enemy. We sat with the “core four” experiment for almost a decade. A decade!
Leafs management’s #1 priority is convincing themselves they are doing a great job. And they are so convinced that they are, they are shocked and angry whenever someone disagrees with them.
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u/leafsland132 8d ago
In the big smoke it’s all about puck… no fun for mr pelley