Toronto Preseason Schedule Released

The Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing for what the team and its fans hope will be a bounce-back season. Fans now have a date for when the optimistic journey will begin.

The Maple Leafs announced their 2026 pre-season schedule on Wednesday. They will take part in four games between September 19th and 23rd. Toronto will play split-squad games against the Montreal Canadiens (Sept. 19) and the Ottawa Senators (Sept. 23), two of which will be at home in Toronto, while the other two will be played on the road.

Toronto has gone through a drastic transformation this off-season. From the top (general manager) all the way down. The drastic changes come after finishing eighth in the Atlantic Division. They ended a nine-year streak of playoff appearances. The Maple Leafs said goodbye to former GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube as a result.

Toronto is now ushering in a new era under John Chayka (GM) and Jim Hiller (Head Coach) as their respective replacements. They are also reuniting the fans with franchise great Mats Sundin. He is rejoining the Maple Leafs as a senior executive advisor.

Toronto Pre-Season Offers First Look at Reshaped Team

On the ice, the reshaping of the Maple Leafs started when they added forward Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick in the 2026 draft. Chayka is having a busy summer reshaping the team in Toronto. Joseph Woll, Simon Benoit, Nick Robertson, and Brandon Carlo have all been traded.

Between trades and free agency, Chayka has added goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, defensemen Darren Raddysh, and Emil Andrae, Forwards Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Nick Paul, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime, and Zack MacEwen. Toronto also re-signed defenseman Troy Stecher.

What could be the most surprising addition is the hiring of Ottawa Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson. He is joining the Maple Leafs as an associate head coach, leaving behind the franchise (Ottawa) he spent 17 seasons with as a player. Alfredsson will be running the power play for Toronto.

The Maple Leafs also added Toronto Marlies head coach John Gruden as an assistant coach. A nice promotion after helping the Marlies win the AHL Calder Cup championship. Rounding out the new coaching staff is Brad Werenka. He most recently coached at the University of Calgary.

The full Maple Leafs pre-season schedule is listed below:

Saturday, Sept. 19: at Montreal
Saturday, Sept. 19: vs. Montreal

Wednesday, Sept. 23: at Ottawa
Wednesday, Sept. 23: vs. Ottawa

Players such as Jacob Quillan, Ryan Tverberg, Bo Groulx, Noah Chadwick, Ben Danford, William Villeneuve (RFA), and Artur Akhtyamov will be looking to show what they can do at main camp before returning to the Marlies.

The Toronto Marlies will have their home opener on Saturday, October 3rd at 4 pm against the Hamilton Hammers. They will begin the evening by raising their 2026 Calder Cup championship banner to the rafters of Coca-Cola Coliseum.