Joffrey Lupul denied reservations at Toronto restaurant because of lockout

Toronto Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul vented his frustration over Twitter on Sunday after being denied reservations at a Toronto restaurant because of the NHL lockout.

Lupul was apparently trying to dine at Real Sports, which the National Post describes as a “popular team-created establishment next to the Air Canada Centre.” The restaurant is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which runs the Leafs.

.@realsports is not allowed to take reservations from Leafs players during the lockout but will continue selling our jerseys for $300 a pop—
Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul) December 16, 2012

The NHL players are not allowed to associate with their teams during the lockout, and apparently that ban extends to team-owned restaurants. An understandably frustrated Lupul deleted that tweet and wrote this follow-up message:

In hindsight twitter was probably not the right place to voice my displeasure w @realsports. That’s not why I use twitter. Was just rattled

— Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul) December 16, 2012

The NHL players are considering dissolving the union, which is a strategy the NFLPA used during the NFL lockout. We’re hoping the labor issue is resolved in time to have a half-season. In the meantime, Lupul will just have to find another restaurant in Toronto where he can grab a burger and fries, or whatever it was he planned to order.

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