When will Maple Leafs offseason departures return to Toronto in 2025-26?

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost one huge piece and a couple of marginal ones this offseason. They clearly identified the bottom six as a priority and have padded their depth there by acquiring Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli, and Dakota Joshua via trade, but in that same breath, they’re down a 100-point regular season player who also provides Selke-quality defence.

It’s clear that the Leafs’ work isn’t finished when it comes to padding the roster, but outside of losing Mitch Marner, they didn’t lose much from their roster. With that being said, let’s take a look at the dates that former Leafs who left this past offseason will be making their return to Toronto. It features one date worth circling and a couple that you might forget about until the day of the game.

Mitch Marner – January 23rd, 2026 (VGK @ TOR)

The elephant in the room here is the day Mitch Marner returns to Toronto. Between the length of his time with the team, the shortcomings while he was one of their highest-paid players, and the messy departure at the end of this season, it’s safe to say that Friday, January 23rd of next year will be a game worth setting aside plans for.

Many have already speculated that Marner’s return will be comparable to John Tavares’ return to Long Island after he left the New York Islanders. While the circumstances are different, they both involve a star player leaving a team whose fans felt that the tenure left a lot to be desired. Only, in the Islanders’ case, their fans were more upset about Tavares leaving whereas a good chunk of Leafs fans were ready to move on from Marner a while ago. There will likely be a mixed reception, but the magnitude of the game should make it worth watching.

Pontus Holmberg – December 8th, 2025 (TBL @ TOR)

Pontus Holmberg was a pain in the rear to go up against in the bottom six, but his lack of offence in his first few NHL seasons contributed to his departure. The fact that the Maple Leafs elected to non-tender him out of fear that his arbitrated cap hit would be higher than what they were willing to pay him likely gave him a chip on his shoulder. Now, he’s on a divisional rival and will get a chance to hurt his former team when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Maple Leafs on December 8th.

Ryan Reaves – December 11th, 2025 (SJS @ TOR)

Only three days after the Holmberg return game will mark the Ryan Reaves return game. The enforcer was traded to the Sharks after free agency opened up, receiving defenceman Henry Thrun in return. It was a little bit of a shocking move, considering Reaves’ ineffectiveness with the Maple Leafs last season, but the team is certainly happy that they were able to get anything for him, and equally, Reaves is likely happy to be on a team that will give him consistent playing time.

He’s close to the 1000-game mark, and although he won’t be able to hit that mark in 2025-26, he’ll be more than happy to work towards that against the Maple Leafs and maybe even surprise everyone with a goal.

Alex Steeves – November 8th, 2025 (BOS @ TOR)

This one might be a little bit of a reach, considering Steeves only played a combined 14 games as a Maple Leaf, but at the same time, that could be as good of motivation as any to show up the team that didn’t give him a proper chance. Steeves was essentially the Auston Matthews of the minors while in Toronto, but he never got more than a cup of coffee with the big club. The Bruins appear to be in a transitionary phase, and that could mean a legitimate shot for Steeves to prove he belongs in the NHL. If he gets a shot out of training camp, bet the over on goals when he returns to Toronto. Just kidding, sort of (not really).