The Toronto Maple Leafs and the rest of the NHL are less than two months away from the start of the regular season. Like every season, there are some games fans and players look forward to more than others.
Like every NHL team, the Maple Leafs will have plenty of these types of games during the season. I will do a breakdown of each month and highlight certain games.
Here is a breakdown of some of the games to look forward to the most.
There are quite a few.
Toronto Maple Leafs: October Games To Highlight
Oct. 13th: Toronto will get things started with the first game of the season. On October 13th, the Maple will host the Montreal Canadiens in Toronto for the home opener. It will be a rematch from the 2021 first-round playoff series in which Montreal beat Toronto in seven games.
Oct. 23rd: The next game to highlight for the Toronto Maple Leafs in October is an away game on October 23rd against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby is still one of the best players in the NHL, and this will be the first time Toronto has played against him since the 2019-20 season.
Oct. 25th: A couple of days later, on October 25th, the Leafs will be in Carolina to play the Hurricanes. We will likely get a goaltending match-up of former Leaf Frederik Andersen versus former Hurricane Petr Mrazek. Both goaltenders will be looking to play well against their former team.
Toronto Maple Leafs: November Games To Highlight
Nov. 4th: On November 4th, the Maple Leafs will host the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. After winning two Stanley Cups since the last time these two teams have played each other, the Lightning are the current NHL measuring stick. We will see how the Leafs measure up.
Nov. 6th: The Maple Leafs will renew their rivalry with the Boston Bruins on November 6th, 2021. The two rivals have not played each other since the 2019-20 season. It will be both Nick Ritchie & Ondrej Kase’s first game against the Bruins since leaving Boston for Toronto.
Nov. 13th: The rivalry of the QEW will resume on November 13th as the Leafs head down to Buffalo to play the Sabres. It will be interesting to see how many Toronto fans make the trip down to Buffalo. The games in Buffalo usually look like Toronto home games, but with the ongoing pandemic, we’ll see if that continues.
Toronto Maple Leafs: December Games To Highlight
Dec. 1st: The first game of December will see the Leafs host former Leaf Nazem Kadri and the Colorado Avalanche. It’s been a couple of seasons since Kadri got traded to Colorado, but he was a fan favorite to many.
Dec. 14th: This will be the first time Zach Hyman will play against the only other NHL team he has played for. Hyman left Toronto for the Edmonton Oilers this off-season.
Dec. 19th: On December 19th, Toronto will play the Seattle Kraken for the first time. The NHL’s newest franchise will be the host for this first meeting.
Dec. 23rd: The Toronto Maple Leafs will host the St. Louis Blues on December 23rd for the Leafs “Next Generation Game” at 2:00 pm EST. A great game for parents to take the kids to, and it’s right before Christmas.
Toronto Maple Leafs: January Games To Highlight
Jan. 1st: On the first day of the new year, the Leafs will play their provincial rivals, the Ottawa Senators. Start the season against one rival and begin the new year against another.
Jan. 5th: Toronto will host the Edmonton Oilers in Zach Hyman’s first game in Toronto since joining the Oilers this off-season. It will be an emotional game for sure.
Toronto Maple Leafs: February Games To Highlight
The Toronto Maple Leafs only have four games in February due to a possible Olympic Break. None of the four games are note-worthy, but hopefully, we will see some of our favorite Leafs playing in the Olympics.
Toronto Maple Leafs: March Games To Highlight
Mar. 8th: On March 8th, the Leafs will host the Seattle Kraken for the very first time. This will be the second and final meeting between these two in the Kraken’s first NHL season.
Mar. 17th: Not only will we see the Maple Leafs wearing their St. Pats uniforms on March 17th, but it will also be Frederik Andersen’s return to Toronto. There will likely be a tribute for the goaltender that is 4th all-time in regular-season wins by Leafs goaltender.
Toronto Maple Leafs: April Games To Highlight
Apr. 29th: There is only one game in April worth highlighting, and it’s the Leafs final game of the season. On April 29th, the Maple Leafs will host the Boston Bruins.
This game may or may not have a big impact on the Atlantic Division standings heading into the NHL playoffs.