And the Leafs, and every other Eastern team, will spend vastly fewer hours travelling than will the Jets or any other Western/Central team. It would be an injustice if the Eastern teams didn’t play more back to backs than the Western teams. The Rangers and Flyers could practically walk to half of their road games (an exaggeration, I know, but not by much), and it’s not much harder for the Leafs.
Everywhere except Minneapolis is a long flight from Winnipeg. Giving them fewer back to backs, if that’s truthfully what happens over the course of a whole season, is not only a logistical necessity, it’s also only fair.