Leafs-watching time maybe / MON 11-30-20 / Restaurant chain known for its coffee doughnuts / Corporate shuffle for short / Early challenge overcome by Joe Biden

Constructor: Emma Craven-Matthews

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (2:49)

THEME: CANADA (71A: Place associated with the answers to the starred clues) — just what the clue says. Here are the "starred clues":

Theme answers:

• HOCKEY NIGHT (4D: *Leafs-watching time, maybe) (because the Leafs are short for the hockey team the Toronto Maple Leafs) (also because "HOCKEY NIGHT in CANADA" is "a branding used for Canadian television presentations of the National Hockey League" (wikipedia)
• TIM HORTONS (18A: *Restaurant chain known for its coffee and doughnuts)
• SAYING SORRY (27D: *Important step after erring) 
• MAPLE SYRUP (62A: Pancake topping) (??? I associate this with New York and the U.S. northeast, where I live, and where the MAPLE SYRUP supply is ample)

Word of the Day:"HOCKEY NIGHT in CANADA" (see 4D) —

Hockey Night in Canada (often abbreviated Hockey Night or HNIC) is a branding used for Canadian television presentations of the National Hockey League. While the name has been used for all NHL broadcasts on CBC Television (regardless of the time of day), Hockey Night in Canada is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts, a practice originating from Saturday NHL broadcasts that began in 1931 on the CNR Radio network and continued on its successors, and debuting on television beginning in 1952. Initially only airing a single game weekly, the modern incarnation airs a weekly double-header, with game times normally at 7 and 10 p.m. (ET). The broadcast features various segments during the intermissions and between games, as well as pre- and post-game coverage of the night's games, and player interviews. It also shows the hosts' opinions on news and issues occurring in the league.

The Hockey Night in Canada brand is owned by the CBC and was exclusively used by CBC Sports through the end of the 2013–14 NHL season. Beginning in the 2014–15 NHL season, the brand is being licensed to Rogers Communications for Sportsnet-produced Saturday NHL broadcasts airing on CBC Television as well as the Rogers-owned Citytv and Sportsnet networks. Rogers had secured exclusive national multimedia rights to NHL games beginning in 2014–15, and sublicensed Saturday night and playoff games to CBC. This sub-license agreement runs through the end of the Rogers deal with the NHL. (wikipedia)

This theme seems pretty remedial. "Here are some things people associate with CANADA." OK, so. Why? What is the point? The list could've been longer or shorter or ... tighter, I don't know. The point is, it's completely arbitrary and purposeless (it's not some kind of Canada Day, is it??). I like SAYING SORRY, as it's totally unexpected in a list like this. Perfectly apt, but original. It's the one bright spot in a lackluster, by-the-numbers, old-fashioned theme. I don't think HOCKEY NIGHT stands very well on its own. I've only ever heard the whole phrase "HOCKEY NIGHT in CANADA," but I'm not Canadian, so maybe it's shortened all the time. For a puzzle with a largely US audience, that answer (as it appears in the grid) felt wobbly. Wobblier was MAPLE SYRUP, which I've never associated with CANADA. The maple leaf, sure, but the syrup, yeah, we've got that in abundance, all over the dang place. The only syrups we ever use are NYS syrups. This is what I mean about the themers being arbitrary. Would've been cooler to have another asterisked clue at 8-Across instead of just boring old OTTAWA (8A: Capital of 71-Across). The theme's just not tight enough, and there's not enough oomph to what's there.