CALGARY — The Toronto Maple Leafs are charging $956.83 for children aged eight to 12 to stand on the ice and wave a flag before home games at Scotiabank Arena, and that doesn’t include the price of a game ticket.The experience is part of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s “Game Day Plus Ups,” a series of add-ons that have been introduced under CEO Keith Pelley, which offer fans behind-the-scenes or on-ice experiences at Leafs games.The Athletic reports that other add-ons in the program include taking a post-game photo on the ice for $95.68 per person or sounding the Leafs’ goal horn for $63.79..Access to VIP areas such as the team’s dressing room or premium dining areas can run up to around $1,000 per person.Across the Leafs’ 41 home games in a season, the flag-bearing program could generate roughly $39,000 in revenue.Toronto is already among the most expensive teams in the NHL to watch live games, with ticket prices and in-arena costs consistently ranking near the top of the league. The franchise is also valued at $4.4 billion, according to Forbes.Pelley stated his willingness to do “anything that gives the Toronto Maple Leafs the best chance to win the Stanley Cup” at a press conference on Tuesday, but critics don’t see how charging young fans and their families almost $1,000 to wave a flag on ice plays into that strategy.“Charging nearly $1,000 for a kid to wave a flag? That’s not fan engagement, that’s exploitation,” one commentator on X said.“Those aren’t some random minor hockey league kids who are asked to do that?” another X user said.“They pay $1,000+ for a ticket? Insane.”.One Leafs fan added that “they’re genuinely ruining the sport.”“My son got to meet the players before coming onto the ice during the second period, met his heroes, it was one of his best days ever,” the fan said.“As a kid, you used to be able to meet the players at sporting goods stores, etc., now it’s all pay.”
