#1. The David Ayres Game
February 22, 2020 will be a day I never forget. Although this game feels like it happened in 2010, it somehow existed only 10 months ago at Scotiabank Arena in front of 19,000 fans. Thank god there were actual fans allowed at this game, or I don’t think anyone would have believed this story.
It may have been a wonderful moment for hockey fans, but I bet that memory isn’t as fondly remembered by the Leafs dressing room.
When you go down 4-1 in the second period, it’s never a good night. That’s a tough lead to come back from, however on this particular night, it felt like the hockey gods were sending Toronto a gift. After Petr Mrazek and James Reimer had both been injured, the Carolina Hurricanes were left without a goalie. Who in the world was going to play net, now? Would a player find some equipment, strap on the pads and go in, or did they have a secret third-string goalie we’d never heard of?
Well, thanks to the Emergency Back-Up Goaltender (EBUG) rule in hockey that millions of fans weren’t aware of in the moment, the legend of David Ayres was born.
Ayres, a 42-year-old Zamboni driver and maintenance worker for the Toronto Marlies was called upon to get his first sniff at professional hockey. We’d come to find out that he’d practiced with the Toronto Maple Leafs a bunch, which seemed to help his nerves.
After two goals in his first three minutes of ice-time to make it 4-3, it felt like the Leafs would score 100 goals on him and embarrass him on national TV. However, in a matter of minutes, Ayres went from being the ‘goat’ to being the G.O.A.T.
He didn’t allow another goal, stopped eight of the 10 shots he faced and guided the Hurricanes to a 6-3 win. For a franchise that’s had a bunch of terrible moments, this may be the worst. Being forever known as the team that lost to the Zamboni driver is a tough pill to swallow.
It may have been the Leafs worst moment of 2020, but it at least provided an unforgettable night for Ayres, his family and millions of hockey fans watching across the world.