The Toronto Maple Leafs, fresh off a 7-2 beatdown of the Edmonton Oilers, head into Monday night's game against the Calgary Flames on a four-game winning streak and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. Overall, the Leafs are 7-4-2 (16 points) and are third in the Atlantic Division, just three points back of the Boston Bruins, who are first.
Just 13 games in, and this season has already had a rollercoaster feel to it. Coaching drama, rookie drama, and goalie drama. Comeback wins and comeback losses. Winning streaks and losing streaks. As October nears its end, it feels like the Maple Leafs are starting to turn into what we can expect them to be moving forward.
It might seem too early to have an "important" road trip, but the ensuing home stand afterwards, and the tightness of the division, would suggest these next three games are bigger than we might have predicted before the season.
The current state of the Maple Leafs
Right now, to say the "vibes are high" would be an understatement. That goes for the players themselves as much as it does for the fanbase.
"An exciting time to be a Maple Leaf," Anthony Stolarz said after the game on Saturday. "We have a great group, the vibes are great, we have an influx of kids who have a lot of energy and are bringing out the best in everyone - That was probably our best game of the year. I hope it sets the standard for us going forward."
Even though the season isn't even a month old, it does feel like it's been slowly building to this, and this should be the standard going forward.
Keep it rollin’ pic.twitter.com/60uhgh3RVj
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 26, 2026
"It feels like we're building a team," Auston Matthews said. "It's not just one, two lines a night, you need everybody on board."
Head coach Jim Hiller said something similar.
"That to me says something about your team. It says you have depth. It says it's not just Matthews, (William) Nylander, and (John) Tavares. It's going through the lineup and that gives you a chance to win every night."
Maple Leafs shouldn't underestimate, but should take advantage of "lesser" opponents
The Oilers were always going to be the toughest test by far for the Maple Leafs on this road trip. The Flames, whom they play on Monday, are 4-6-0 and near the bottom of the Western Conference. However, they are on a three-game winning streak after starting the season 1-6-0
On Wednesday, they head to Seattle to take on the Kraken, who are 7-4-1. As well as they've played to start the campaign, I'm going to need to see them sustain this for a few months before I buy into them as a real hockey team. They have been underwhelming year after year, and again, as good as they've been to start, the Leafs are the better team.
To wrap things up, they play the 2-10-1 Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Listen, the record speaks for itself, just as it did last season when they were 25-49-8. However, this team still has some talent, and they are more than capable of scoring goals. They have also given up the most goals in the NHL, so do with that what you will.
All in all, the Maple Leafs could go 3-0-0 on the rest of this trip, and I think that should be the expectation. If you want to temper it and be happy with 2-1-0, or 1-1-1, or whatever, that's fine. But given how the Leafs are playing and the level of competition they will be facing, I think 3-0-0 is on the table.
Tough stretch waiting for Leafs at home
After their game against the Canucks on Saturday, the Maple Leafs are off until Tuesday night (Nov. 3), when they host the Utah Mammoth and start a six-game home stand. As "easy" as this road trip is, the next six at home are the exact opposite.
The Mammoth are 8-4-0, and after making it to the playoffs last season, the expectations are high for this team in 2026-27.
The Leafs will have a well-deserved three days off before a back-to-back with the Montreal Canadiens (Sat, Nov. 7) and the New Jersey Devils (Sun, Nov. 8). The Canadiens are 6-3-2, and despite their slow start, are still a legit Stanley Cup contender. The Devils, on the other hand, have yet to prove who they really are. Newly acquired Connor Hellebuyck will probably be in the net by then, but even with a 7-4-0 start, they are still a work in progress.
The real heart of this home stand is when Toronto will welcome the Colorado Avalanche (Nov. 10), Minnesota Wild (Nov. 12), and the Oilers (Nov. 14) to Scotiabank Arena, all in a row. Not only are these three of the best teams in the West, but they are all real Cup contenders. You tell me that any of these guys will be in the Final, and it wouldn't surprise me at all.
Big week for Toronto
I'm not saying they're going to go 0-6 for those six games, but the difficulty of their opponents will be why capitalizing on these next three games is crucial for Toronto. The standings are tight, and it's only going to get tighter. Beat the teams you should, and let the chips fall where they may.
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