The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to open the 2025-26 regular season against their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
After a year of change that saw the departure of star player Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Leafs will deploy a look with more depth. However, how it shakes out remains to be seen. There’s been a lot of shuffling throughout the forward lines, particularly among lines 1, 3, and 4. Newcomer Matias Maccelli, acquired this summer in a trade with the Utah Mammoth, will line up in Marner’s old spot on the first-line right wing, playing alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
The Leafs shuffled up their bottom two lines in the wake of a lower-body injury to Scott Laughton. Despite a long look in the bottom-six, top prospect Easton Cowan appears to have missed out on an opportunity to be in the lineup on opening night. Based on the way things shook out during the final practice , Bobby McMann will play left wing on the second line alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. Newcomer Dakota Joshua will skate with Max Domi in the middle and Nick Robertson on the right, while Steven Lorentz, Nicolas Roy, and Calle Järnkrok will round out the fourth line.
Toronto’s defense is untouched from how it ended last year, with the exception of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit swapping defensive sides. Both are left-handed shots, but the Leafs want Ekman-Larsson back on his strong side in the hope of jump-starting some offense. Anthony Stolarz is slated to start in goal, with Cayden Primeau—who was acquired on waivers just two days ago—slated to back him up. Joseph Woll departed the Leafs early in training camp to tend to a personal matter with no timelines for a return. GM Brad Treliving did state on Monday that he thought "Woll is progressing well".
Maple Leafs Believe ‘Things Are Progressing Well’ With Joseph Woll And An Updated Look At Toronto's Goaltending Situation
One day before the Toronto Maple Leafs' regular season opener, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving provided an update on goaltender Joseph Woll, who has been absent for most of training camp to tend to a personal matter.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens are expected to be more of an offensive threat to Toronto this season. A team loaded with offensive talent, they certainly have the speed this year. With a full season of Ivan Demidov and the acquisition of defenseman Noah Dobson, there’s a good chance Montreal could improve from their surprising wild-card playoff position from last year.
"Iit's a good asset getting Dobson. Obviously, he's been a good defenseman in this league. He's got a good shot, good offensive player," Berube said about the Canadiens on Wednesday. "They're a team coming. I thought they did a great job last year and got into the playoffs. And, hey got some good skill over there. (Lane) Hutson, I can go through the lines and line up, but I don't need to do that. You know that. They got good skill. So they're going to be a challenge."
Where to Watch
Viewers in Canada will be able to stream the game nationwide on Sportsnet and the Sportsnet+ app. In the United States the game can be seen on ESPN+ , while worldwide the game will be available on DAZN.
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