Toronto Maple Leafs: Looking Ahead at October Schedule

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will play their first game of the 2023-24 NHL regular season in less than two weeks.

However, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a few more preseason games to start the month of October.

There are still a few players fighting to earn a spot on the opening night roster.

Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson, Noah Gregor, and Conor Timmins all want to make the team, so we’ll see who gets chosen.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will start the month of October with a preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 2nd in Toronto.

October 5th and 7th will see the Leafs play the Detroit Red Wings to finish their preseason schedule.

After another successful season fell short in the playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs have pressure on them to be even better than last season.

Fans will want to see how this year’s team functions with all the new additions. Leafs general manager Brad Treliving brought in Ryan Reaves, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg to change the Leafs identity. Hopefully, it works out.

The Leafs have also made changes to their coaching staff this off-season.

They hired Guy Boucher and Mike Van Ryan as assistant coaches. Van Ryan will run the defense, while Boucher will be in charge of the power-play. It will be interesting to see how these changes affect the team.

(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Looking Ahead at the Toronto Maple Leafs October Schedule

After a short three-day break, the Leafs will begin the 2023-24 NHL regular season on October 11th with the Montreal Canadiens in town for the Leafs home opener.

The two historic rivals will start the season against each other, to the delight of fans on both sides.

Auston Matthews and the Leafs will need to find a way to keep Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield off the score sheet.

The Leafs will have two days off before hosting the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, October 14th.

Leafs hockey on a Saturday night is as traditional as one can get.

Fans will find out if the Leafs can shut down Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov.

Next on the schedule is a date I’m sure many have marked on their calendars. Rookie sensation Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks will be in town on October 16th.

Bedard is the odds-on favourite to win the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year. The Blackhawks are a mix of young guys and feisty veterans. It’ll be interesting to see if Nick Foligno or Corey Perry mix it up with Reaves.

That concludes the first half of October for the Leafs.

These three games should all be highly entertaining. The Leafs have a good chance to win all three games.

Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports /

Mid to Late October

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be off on October 17th and 18th, with one of those days being a travel day.

On October 19th, the Leafs will begin a five-game road trip, with their first stop being in Sunrise, Florida, to play the Florida Panthers.

The Leafs will be looking for payback against the team that eliminated them from the 2nd round of the 2023 NHL playoffs.

Next up on the road trip will be the Tampa Bay Lightning. It will be the first meeting between these two teams since the Leafs eliminated the Lightning in the 1st round of last season’s playoffs.

After another two-day break, the Leafs will play Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on October 24th.

Former Leafs assistant coach Spencer Carbery is now the Capitals head coach. It will be interesting to see how he lines his team up against a team he knows very well.

On October 26th, the Leafs will play the Dallas Stars.

If Nick Robertson makes it onto the Leafs to start the season, he’ll get to play against his brother Jason Robertson. Nick and the Leafs won the first brotherly battle. We’ll see if they can do it again.

The Leafs will play the Nashville Predators next on October 28th. It will be the Leafs first game against Ryan O’Reilly since he left in free agency.

Leafs GM Treliving tried to re-sign O’Reilly, but it didn’t work out. Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie is with the Predators, too.

The Leafs will fly home on October 29th and host the Los Angeles Kings on October 31st. Hopefully, playing on Halloween will be scarier for the Kings than the Leafs.

Phillip Danault and Pierre-Luc Dubois have both been a thorn in the Leafs side through the years. The Leafs will need to find a way to contain them.

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That concludes the month of October for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They play nine games, four at home and five on the road. I am predicting the Leafs to finish the month with a 6-2-1 record.

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