Since you asked: a) I believe it's possible he league doesn't want to come across as biased in favour of the Leafs. When the war room is in Toronto, it would look bad if decisions consistently went the Leafs' way so they err on the side of caution. b) Half the players and thus league management grew up despising the Leafs (you know, just like us plebs - you love them or hate them). c) The Leafs will always have fan support so the league doesn't feel any need to cater to us unlike smaller market teams.
And for fun, d):
You actually believe all that? The first doesn’t make any sense, actually neither does the 2nd, and as a fan of a small market team some fans would say guys got called for “Panthering.” In reality, all teams have calls for and against them that don’t make a ton of sense, the reality is (as true with the nonsense Panthering cries) great teams can overcome the bullshit.