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Toronto Maple Leafs: First month schedule breakdown

Originally posted on 6IX ON ICE | By Anthony Fava | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 12:31 PM ET

After an eventful offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs will begin the 2025–26 NHL regular season tonight with a matchup with the rival Montreal Canadiens.

After a 2024–25 season that saw the Leafs come within one game of the Eastern Conference Final, fans will be eager to see if this Toronto team, now without star right winger Mitch Marner, can outperform their division-winning performance from last season.

That journey will all start today, so in honour of that, let’s take a gander at what the Leafs’ schedule will look like through the first month of this NHL season.

Opening night and first back-to-back

Like with most seasons, the Leafs will open this season with a game at home against Montreal. Last season, Toronto won three out of the four games they played against the Canadiens, with their one loss coming on opening night. However, this won’t be the same Canadiens team that the Leafs are accustomed to, as Montreal now has playoff experience under their belt and also added elite defenceman Noah Dobson over the summer. It will be interesting to see how this opening battle goes.

The Leafs will then play the Detroit Red Wings twice, once on Oct. 11 in Detroit and again on Oct. 13 in Toronto. The game on the 13th will also be the initial game of the team’s first back-to-back of the season with a game against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 14. Like against the Canadiens, Toronto went 3–1 against the Red Wings last season, and they split their two game series against the Predators, but that game will ultimately show two things, the first being whether or not Nashville can turn things around after a very disapointing 2024–25 season, and if the Leafs will fair well in their first back-to-back of the season.

East coast battles

Following their game against Nashville, the Leafs will take on the New York Rangers in Toronto on Oct. 16, and their matchups with New York-area teams will continue the following week with a game in Toronto against the New Jersey Devils, and then a back-to-back with the Buffalo Sabres from Oct. 24-25.

The Leafs took two games out of three from the Rangers last season, but that was a Rangers squad that vastly underperformed following their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season in 2023–24. With the Devils, former Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe will definitely be wanting two points in Toronto, but with the Leafs having a perfect 3–0 record against the Devils last season, Toronto will look to keep that streak alive.

The Sabres have come into many of the recent seasons with promise, and if this is finally the year where they look like playoff contenders, it could make for an exciting back-to-back with Toronto. Like with the Devils, the Leafs went 3–0 against the Sabres last season, but during a back-to-back, anything can happen, especially with the games being a road/home split.

Mammoth matchup and tough back-to-back

Turning to November, the Leafs will get their first look at Utah since they officially adopted their Mammoth moniker, with a game against Utah in Toronto on Nov. 5. While the Leafs did go 2–0 against Utah last season, the Mammoth have a strong young core and came close to a wild-card spot in the West last season, finishing just seven standings points out.

Then, rounding out the first full month of Leafs hockey will be a back-to-back home series against the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. Last season, Toronto went 3–0–1 against a Boston team that finished second-last in the Eastern Conference standings, but depending on how the Bruins bounce back this season, this Nov. 8 matchup could be one of the more exciting games during the first month, especially when you take into account the intense rivalry between the two teams.

The second game of the back-to-back, a Nov. 9 soiree in Toronto with Carolina, will likely be the Leafs’ biggest test through the first month. The Leafs did go 2–1 against the ‘Canes last season, but Carolina is coming off an appearance in the Eastern Conference final, and they have also made solid additions in defenceman K’Andre Miller and star left winger Nikolaj Ehlers. While it will be early in the season, playing a team that the NHL has ranked at No. 3 in their 2025–26 power rankings will be a great test for this Toronto team, and if they can pick up a win on the second night of a back-to-back, the league will surely be put on notice.

This article first appeared on 6IX ON ICE and was syndicated with permission.

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