New Maple Leafs player already complaining about Toronto traffic

The Toronto traffic seems to get on everybody's nerves eventually. 

You could be an NHL player making millions of dollars, and the heavy traffic on game days would still find a way to ruin your mood. That has been the case for one of the Toronto Maple Leafs' newest players, as forward Teddy Blueger joked with the media on Sunday about his commute to the rink. 

According to Sportsnet's Anna Dua, the 32-year-old Latvian was asked about what his welcome-to-Toronto moment has been, and he didn't disappoint. 

"Taking an hour to get to the rink," Blueger reportedly answered. 

Teddy Blueger on his what his “welcome to Toronto” moment was: “Taking an hour to get to the rink” 😂 Said it caught him off guard because sometimes it’s only 25 minutes, have to keep checking maps all day to see when the red goes down

— Anna Dua (@AnnaNoelleDua) October 4, 2026

Dua went on to say that Blueger clarified that it only takes 25 minutes or so on some occasions, but the heavy traffic has a tendency to more than double the amount of time it takes to get to Scotiabank Arena. 

It's fair to say that the arena isn't located in the most ideal area of the city to avoid traffic, as it's at the heart of downtown Toronto. Though he should be used to a busy metro, having commuted to downtown Vancouver's Rogers Arena over the past three seasons or so. 

Toronto's notorious traffic situation is nothing new. Just 10 months ago, the city landed 34th on the 2025 Global Traffic Scorecard of the worst cities in the world for traffic congestion. Only Montreal (28th) ranked worse among Canadian cities. 

Being a professional hockey player will help you avoid a lot of the daily annoyances that a regular person has to deal with, but getting stuck in traffic remains a universal experience for just about everybody.