Every year, Leafs fans make the trip to Buffalo to watch the Maple Leafs against the Sabres. However, that could change in the next season. <div align='center' style='padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;'><img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/304908.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /></div> <h2>Sabres Take Measures to Limit Leafs Fans at Home Games</h2> In an effort to curb the influx of Leafs fans at their home turf, the Buffalo Sabres are relegating out-of-state ticket buyers to the end of the line for single-game purchases this upcoming season. The policy emerges after numerous Sabres players voiced concerns over the scarcity of home crowd support, particularly in games against the Leafs. <div align='center'><blockquote class=instagram-media data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=https://www.instagram.com/p/CwoRBxUggAq/?img_index=1 data-instgrm-version=12 style= background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);><div style=padding:16px;> <a href=https://www.instagram.com/p/CwoRBxUggAq/?img_index=1 style= background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%; target=_blank> <div style= display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;> <div style=background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;></div> <div style=display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;> <div style= background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;></div> <div style= background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;></div></div></div><div style=padding: 19% 0;></div><div style=display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;><svg width=50px height=50px viewBox=0 0 60 60 version=1.1 xmlns=https://www.w3.org/2000/svg xmlns:xlink=https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink><g stroke=none stroke-width=1 fill=none fill-rule=evenodd><g transform=translate(-511.000000, -20.000000) fill=#000000><g><path d=M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631></path></g></g></g></svg></div></a></div></blockquote></div> <q>«Obviously last year, there were a handful of games where we saw the wrong color blue or the wrong color red coming into the building, depending on the jersey we were wearing,» Frank Batres-Landaeta, the team's vice president of sales and service, told The Buffalo News «We want to make sure that we're providing that home-ice advantage to our players,»</q> The tension reached a new high at Key Banks Arena when Ryan O'Reilly's hat trick led to a ton of hats from the away crowd onto the ice. <h2>Fan Backlash from Leafs Nation</h2> Leafs fans have reacted strongly to the Sabres' new policy. Mike Wilson, an author and podcaster for Leafs Nation, shared his skepticism: <q>«The Buffalo Sabres are going to try to do this? Good luck to them, It's not going to keep Leaf fans away; it never will. You just can't keep them away. It won't stop them at all.»</q> Nick Giammusso, the Buffalo-based owner of VIP Tix, also cast doubt on the efficacy of the Sabres' strategy. <q><q>It's not going to work, season-ticket holders are used to selling their tickets to fans from southern Ontario. It's a big payday. It ends up helping them pay their season-ticket bill to the Sabres. </q> <div class='youtube_container'><iframe class='youtube_video' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nHb4oBz-ZR8?si=YMzuJPuoxJ4bvE9S' width='100%' loading='lazy' frameborder='0' title='' allow='autoplay; fullscreen' allowfullscreen></iframe></div> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TorontoStar/status/1697397767386067270?s=20'> </a></blockquote></div> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/MikeInBuffalo/status/1696994152423035171?s=20'> </a></blockquote></div> As seen on Hockey Patrol - <a href='https://www.hockeypatrol.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/Buffalo-Sabres-Enforcing-Ways-To-Ban-Maple-Leafs-Fans' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Buffalo Sabres Enforcing Ways To Ban Maple Leafs Fans</a>