Breaking down the Maple Leafs' 2025-26 schedule, month-by-month

The NHL schedule has been out for a couple of weeks now.  Fans have seen when their team’s season starts, rivalry matchups, revenge games and any other games to circle on the calendar.  Now that certain matchups have been looked at, it’s time to look at the bigger picture.  We’ll break down the schedule by the numbers month-by-month, looking at the team’s back-to-backs, longest home stands and road trips as well as key points in the schedule to look out for.

October 2025

If the numbers last season are any indication, the Leafs could be looking at a hot start to the upcoming season.  Toronto had a 27-13-1 record at home last season.  Out of their 11 games this month, eight of them are at home and just two are against teams that made the playoffs last season (8th vs MTL, 21st vs NJD).  On top of that, their away games are in Detroit, Buffalo and Columbus.  All of which are in the top-five in closest NHL cities to Toronto.  When it comes to travel, the schedule certainly eases the Leafs into the long season.

Toronto has their first of three five-game home stretches in October, as well as three back-to-backs.  Their home stretch goes from the 13th to the 21st, when they play five games in an eight day stretch.  If Stolarz begins the season as the starting goalie, this is where Joseph Woll should get into game action for the first time in the season.

October gives Toronto their first and only home-and-home matchup of the season when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on the 24th, then host them on the 25th.  They round out October with a back to back at home against Calgary and then in Columbus on the 28th-29th.  With their last four games of the month being two sets of back-to-backs, both goalies in the tandem will certainly be utilized at the end of October.

November 2025

November is perfectly balanced for Toronto when it comes to home and away games with seven each.  While they start the month on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers, the first half of November is still much more home heavy, with their next four games at home.  They have seven games with five at home in the first half of the month, and the exact opposite in the second half with five away games and two at home.  

They have their first road game against a Western Conference opponent, when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on the 25th.  Their first back-to-back of the month comes at home against the Boston Bruins then the Carolina Hurricanes.  Much like October, Toronto’s last games of the month are back-to-back, this time on the road against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.

This month is very busy on the weekends for the Leafs.  As a matter of fact, the month of November this year has five Saturday’s, and the Leafs have a game on all five of them.  I’m not complaining, hockey is best enjoyed on a Saturday night, and Toronto does have other months with a game on each Saturday.  That being said, it’s rare for that to be the case with five Saturdays in a month.

December 2025

The Leafs start the month of December continuing their six-game road trip in Florida and Carolina, before five consecutive games at home.  During that stretch, they do have at least one day of rest between each game.  Their first back-to-back of the month doesn’t come until the 20th-21st, when they face the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars on the road.

That back-to-back is part of a period of time between the 18th-23rd, where the team plays four games in six days.  You can expect potential lineup changes and both rostered goalies being used in those few days.  They do have three days off after that before finishing off the month with another three games in four days, including a weekend back-to-back at home against Ottawa and then in Detroit on the 28th-29th.

January 2026

With 16 games, January is the busiest month of the entire regular season for Toronto.  The guys won’t be able to party too much on New Years Eve, starting off the calendar year with a date with the Winnipeg Jets on New Years Day at Scotiabank Arena.  They visit the Islanders on the third before two days off for what will be the last time until the Olympics.

While they only have one back-to-back in the month of January, what could make the schedule so gruelling to start 2026 is the lack of off time.  Their month starts off with five games from the 1st-10th.  They play back-to-back games on the road against the Colorado Avalanche then Utah Mammoth on the 12-13th.  From their game on the 6th vs the Panthers until the Olympics start in early February, Toronto has a game every other day.

While having only one back-to-back in the month helps, this is a point of the season where players are dealing with bumps, bruises, and injuries of all kinds.  If a player is dealing with something lingering, a lack of a couple days off may be very tough, and this is the part of the schedule where wear and tear might really start to show.  They have 12 games in the last 22 days of the month, which averages playing three games every 5.5 days for three weeks straight.

February 2026

The bad news about February is that the Leafs only have five games.  The good news is, that’s because of the Winter Olympics, and NHL players are finally playing in the Winter Games again!  For the Leafs that aren’t playing in the Olympics, the month will provide some much needed rest after a tough January.

In terms of the games on Toronto’s schedule, four of their five games come in sets of challenging back-to-backs.  At the beginning of the month, they’ll finish off a western road trip in Alberta against the Calgary Flames then the Edmonton Oilers on the 2nd-3rd.  While that will likely be Toronto and Edmonton’s last time facing off, Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid will still more than likely meet in the Olympic games.  

When Matthews rejoins the Leafs, they’ll have maybe the last two games you would want after a long break.  An away back-to-back in Florida against the Lightning then Panthers on the 25th-26th.  While you definitely want to be rested for a couple of games like that, the play style of those teams will certainly be a wake up call after the break, and even tougher for the guys that play in the Olympics who are even more bruised and battered.

March 2026

March is the last full month of the regular season for Toronto. While they have nine away games compared to six at home, it’s still a good balance as they aren’t on the road for more than two games at a time.  They are on the move a lot, as they also don’t have a home stretch for more than two games as well.

They will be travelling more than usual in March, and the games seem to come in bunches.  In March, the Leafs will have a season-high four back-to-backs, all of them with travel.  As much as Toronto will likely be using their goalies as a tandem more than most other teams,  March will be a test for the goaltenders on the roster.

With Toronto’s goalie situation, the starter by March will likely be whoever is hot at the time.  This far into the season, head coach Craig Berube could have a clear idea of who he is looking to start come playoff time should Toronto remain in the position to make it to the postseason.  With the way the schedule is built, March may be the month where the ‘1b’ of the tandem gets more games in, just to give the potential playoff starter some rest down the stretch.

April 2026

The regular season comes to an end in April before playoff time rolls around.  The California trip will come late in the season for Toronto, as the Leafs finish it off visiting the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in the first couple of games in the month.  

They only have one back-to-back in April, at home against the Washington Capitals before facing the New York Islanders on the road from the 8th-9th.  Toronto’s last five games of the year alternate from home to away before they eventually finish off the regular season in Ottawa against the Senators.  The last game could have some major implications with both teams in the Atlantic Division, and both teams primed to have playoff seasons.

The Whole Season

Now that you've seen what to look out for in each month of the season, you may be curious of the bigger picture. How the entire season breaks down by the numbers, including the longest road trip/homestand, back to backs and more. Hopefully this chart can help you out.