Mission accomplished: Cape Breton couple achieves goal of watching Leafs play in every NHL arena

A Cape Breton couple has seen their beloved Toronto Maple Leafs in each and every NHL city.

A pair of hockey fans from Cape Breton has taken their love of the game the extra mile – travelling to every city with a National Hockey League team to watch their beloved Toronto Maple Leafs play.

It all started 10 years ago for Barb and Dave MacLean with a game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs played against the St. Louis Blues.

“So, Barb and I were going to a lot of Leafs games and, in 2015, we decided to start going to see them in other cities,” Dave said about how the couple’s mission began.

Since then, the couple has managed to see the Leafs play in every NHL rink.

“We were able to go on road trips with the Leafs and we’d get maybe five games at a time,” Dave said. “And then the last few years we’ve been ticking (cities) off one at a time.”

Thirty-one NHL cities later, the MacLeans finally completed their mission Saturday night in Ottawa against the Senators.

“We had a box, which was nice,” Dave said. “And our family – our kids and their kids – were there.”

The couple also received a shout-out on the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast during Saturday’s game, much to the delight of family and friends watching across the country - including Barb’s mother, who lives at a nursing home in Glace Bay, N.S.

“My sister Sharon was visiting my mom at the time and she thought she was going to jump out of her chair, which is not very good for a 92-year-old lady,” Barb said.

According to Barb, the couple has endured their fair share of good-natured teasing while visiting other team’s rinks.

“We’ve endured a lot as anyone who knows us knows,” Barb said. “We haven’t seen them win (a championship) yet.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967 - an accomplishment the MacLean’s just missed, as both were born the following year.

After seeing their team play in every city, their new goal is to witness their team win a championship.

“We’re pretty sure it’s going to be this year,” Dave said with a playful grin.

For now, the pair might technically have one more city to visit – one the Maple Leafs have yet to play in.

“Well, since the Leafs didn’t play Utah (the former Arizona Coyotes, moved this season to Salt Lake City), we’ll probably end up making a trip there,” Dave said.

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