It’s been a long time since the Toronto Maple Leafs made it to the Stanley Cup Final—way back in 1967, which is also when they last won the championship. They’ve been going through quite a dry spell, the longest in NHL history, with 57 seasons without making it to the Cup Final. Even though they totally crushed the 2024-25 regular season—securing the Atlantic Division with a solid 52-26-4 record—Toronto stumbled once more in the playoffs. It seems like their history of faltering in key moments came back to haunt them, leading to discussions about making some changes.

That Eastern Conference semifinals loss in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers really hit hard for the fans. They were so upset that they ended up throwing things at the players’ bench right after the game. It really seems like anyone who gets involved with anything to do with the Maple Leafs just can’t catch a break. On X, EA content creator Nealer mentioned, “Rory McIlroy is given a Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey and proceeds to get knocked out in the first round. Can’t make this stuff up.” So, what’s the story?

Before teeing off at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy received a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, blending NHL fandom with one of golf’s top events in a fun way. Over the course of 29 holes, he managed to score three birdies but also racked up six bogeys, one double bogey, and a tough quadruple bogey, making for a pretty disappointing outing. When he reached the 36-hole cutoff, he found himself at T150, which was the toughest start to a tournament he’d ever had—beating his previous low of T142.

Besides McIlroy’s rough performance, the RBC Canadian Open had a fun hockey twist to it. BarDown posted a video on X with a caption that read, “A McDavid jersey, 4-Nations Makar jersey, banging on the boards, referees, and a…. zamboni?!?!?” Fans were spotted rocking Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers jersey and Cale Makar’s 4 Nations Face-Off Canadian jersey. Even Adam Hadwin, the Canadian pro golfer, was spotted wearing a Team Canada jersey from the 4 Nations Face-Off.

So, it wasn’t totally out of context, but there was also a Zamboni hanging out in the background. That’s what the “polar bear in Arlington, Texas” meme is all about! Seeing a Zamboni on a golf course is kind of like catching a glimpse of a polar bear strolling down a Texas highway. It really shows how popular the NHL is! Even at sports events that aren’t about hockey, you can spot people rocking hockey gear. Yeah, so in Canada, the NHL went ahead and signed a new broadcasting deal for their main fans.

NHL grabbed a major deal for the Canadian audience

The NHL and Rogers Communications have wrapped up an exciting 12-year national media rights deal for Canada, keeping their partnership going through the 2037-38 season. It’s valued at about CAD 11 billion, which is roughly USD 8 billion. Rogers gets the exclusive national broadcast rights for everything—TV, digital, and streaming—in both English and French. Now, the coverage includes regular-season matchups, the Stanley Cup playoffs and final, along with big events like the All-Star Game, Winter Classic, and Stadium Series.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman praised the deal, saying, “For more than a decade, Rogers has done an incredible job of conveying what NHL hockey, our players and our teams mean to hockey fans and their communities from coast to coast. We’re thrilled to continue our landmark partnership for an additional 12 years.” This setup is going to cut down on those annoying regional broadcast blackouts.

By locking in these rights well before the current deal ends at the close of the 2025-26 season, Rogers has snagged the country’s most sought-after sports property, making sure we get top-notch NHL broadcasts for over the next decade.