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Maple Leafs will host Canadiens in season opener, Marner, Golden Knights return to Toronto on January 23

Originally posted on TheLeafsnation | By Arun Srinivasan | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 1:25 PM ET

The complete schedule for the 2025-26 NHL season was released Wednesday, and the Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Montreal Canadiens for their season opener on October 8. Toronto concludes its regular season against the Ottawa Senators on April 15, 2026.

Mitch Marner’s return against the Maple Leafs will take place on January 23, 2026, when the Vegas Golden Knights arrive. This may be the most hotly-anticipated game on this year’s regular season schedule as Marner finished his Leafs tenure as the fifth-leading scorer in franchise history, but was booed off the ice in his final game with the organization. Pierre McGuire likened Marner’s eventual return to Toronto, to John Tavares’ first game against the New York Islanders after signing with the Maple Leafs on Canada Day 2018.

"It will be nasty. It will be a lot like when Tavares went back to Long Island."

– Pierre McGuire is expecting a hostile backdrop for Mitch Marner's return to Toronto in Vegas colours this coming season@thegoldenmuzzy | @Jay_D_Rosehill pic.twitter.com/iRVqlAZyew

— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) July 16, 2025

Toronto will play six of its first seven games at home. After hosting Montreal for the season opener, Toronto will travel to face off against the Detroit Red Wings on October 11, before hosting a five-game home stand against the Red Wings, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Seattle Kraken and New Jersey Devils, respectively. The team will also host five-game home stands through December 6-16, and again through January 19-27.

It will also be a quiet month of February, with the Maple Leafs hosting just one home game due to the Olympic break, when the Senators arrive on February 28. Toronto will play 15 back-to-back games, and it plays two different six-game road strips from November 22-December 4 and from January 29-February 26, which is lengthened due to the Olympic hiatus.

Toronto will host the defending champion Florida Panthers twice, on January 6 and April 11. Florida eliminated Toronto in seven games during the second round, and there will be plenty of excitement to see if the new-look Maple Leafs can keep pace with the Panthers, who are coming off a dream offseason.

Here is the Maple Leafs’ complete schedule for the 2025-26 season: