Toronto Maple Leafs: The Can’t Miss Game of the Season

The puck drops on a new Toronto Maple Leafs season on Oct. 11, 2023.

The Buds take on the Montreal Canadiens in what has become an annual battle. The Toronto Maple Leafs will have home ice advantage for that contest and will hope to get the a win to kick off the campaign.

For those itching to get their eyeballs on some Leafs action even sooner, the preseason is just hours away. The team’s first game is Sunday, Sep. 24, at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. The Leafs are taking on the Ottawa Senators.

There are some moments on the schedule that that will hold more meaning for the club and Toronto mMaple Leafs fans than others.

One of those was the battle against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their meet ups would have had meaning since it would be the first time Toronto was to interact publicly with former coach Mike Babcock. Since the bench boss was recently dismissed, fans could erase the stars they’ve drawn next to those dates on their calendars.

One can’t miss series will be against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It appears that the Leafs and Bolts are always on a collision course for the first round of the playoffs.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone if that’s where things are headed yet again. Seeing how the Leafs fare against the Lightning in the regular season should give a slight indicator on how a seven game series may play out should history repeat itself and a post season clash does indeed take form.

The Can’t Miss Toronto Maple Leafs Game of the Season

The game that Leafs Nation won’t want to miss is the first meeting they have with the Anaheim Ducks. That game takes place in Anaheim on Jan. 3, 2024. While that may seem like an odd opponent to circle, it’s specifically due to one player on the Ducks roster, Radko Gudas.

Gudas made himself the Leafs number one enemy in last year’s playoffs.

While he spent the entire series being overly physical, it was his final action in the Conference Semi-Finals that painted him as a villain in Toronto. That would be when his club, the Florida Panthers, scored the overtime goal to eliminate the Leafs. Instead of turning to celebrate with his teammates, Gudas’ first action was to get right into rookie goaltender, Joseph Woll’s face and scream. It was a classless action that the team surely hasn’t forgotten.

The Leafs new enforcer, Ryan Reaves, has already brought attention to the upcoming meeting. When asked by a reporter about Gudas’ choice to yell at Woll, Reaves responded, “I hope he tries that. It would be interesting, wouldn’t it? That’d be fun.”

There may be fireworks when these two clubs finally see each other in the new year.

The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Ducks twice this season. After they connect on Jan. 3, they play again on Feb. 17 in Toronto.