The Toronto Maple Leafs kick off their 2025–26 NHL season against the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow. This historic rivalry promises to be an excellent matchup to begin the new season. Opening night is one of the most anticipated games of the season for all NHL teams. It marks the beginning of a new period for everyone. The Leafs almost always play the Canadiens to begin the season. Let’s take a look at how the Leafs have performed in recent season openers and how they fare this season.
Season openers against Montreal
2024–25 at Montreal
Last season, the Leafs began their season in Montreal against the Canadiens. This is always a promising matchup that takes place early in the season. However, this one was a little bit boring. The Leafs lost this game 1–0 after Cole Caufield’s power play goal was the difference maker. Not a lot happened in this game, although current Leafs such as Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev made their debuts with the team. A positive takeaway from this game was Anthony Stolarz’s performance. The netminder stopped 26 of 27 shots, which set the tone for his season. He went on to have a career year, posting a 0.926 save percentage.
2023–24 vs Montreal
The opening game of the 2023–2024 season in Toronto was one of the most entertaining games of the entire season. It was an intense 6–5 shootout win for the Leafs that began their season on the right foot. A lot of action occurred in this game. After Jake Evans opened the scoring, Arber Xhekaj and Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves to welcome the new season. This provided the Leafs with an energy boost going into the second period, where they scored three unanswered goals to take a 3–2 lead. Unfortunately, things took a bad turn early in the third. The Canadiens scored three unanswered goals of their own to take a 5–3 lead with eight minutes remaining.
The superstar of the Leafs, Auston Matthews, took control of the game and scored two goals in the final five minutes to tie the game. This put all of the momentum on the Leafs’ side going into overtime. Both teams went scoreless in overtime, which took the game to a shootout. Former Leafs star forward Mitch Marner buried a shootout game-winning goal to finish off the Canadiens. This remains one of the best opening games in the history of the Leafs.
2022–23 at Montreal
This opening game in Montreal was yet again another barn burner to open the season. It was a sold-out crowd in Montreal that led to a back-and-forth game. Teams exchanged goals throughout the entire game before Sean Monahan scored the go-ahead goal with over two minutes left in the third period. With the momentum shifting Montreal’s way, it looked like the game was over. Superstar forward William Nylander was hit with a sweet pass from John Tavares and scored the game-tying goal. This happened just forty seconds after Monahan had given the Canadiens the lead. It seemed like the game was going to overtime; however, there was another late goal to seal the deal.
A brutal turnover from defenceman Jake Muzzin allowed Nick Suzuki to set up Josh Anderson for the game-winning goal. This was another entertaining finish on opening night history for the Leafs; it just went the wrong way.
2021–22 vs Montreal
The season opener after the COVID season was a special one. It was an exciting moment for many fans as NHL teams were playing in full arenas again. The Leafs began their season against who else but the Canadiens. Not a lot of action happened in this game. Both teams exchanged goals in the first period, and Nylander scored the winning goal in the third period. Jack Campbell secured the win with a 31-save performance to begin the year.
Looking back at this roster was tough. Guys like Nick Ritchie, Wayne Simmonds, and Ondrej Kase were still playing in the NHL. Seeing the current Leafs roster provides some comfort in the team’s significant improvement. Even without Mitch Marner, the Leafs should be a strong playoff-contending team.
What has changed?
The Leafs and Canadiens are getting set for their sixth straight season opener against one another. Many things have changed within both teams over the years. The Canadiens are coming off a strong season, where they made their first playoff appearance since 2021. Rookie Lane Hutson was phenomenal, posting a 60-assist, 66-point season. This was easily enough to earn him the Calder Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s best rookie. Juraj Slafkovsky also made some significant progress. He led the team in hits with 194, beginning to establish himself as an elite power forward. Lastly, Patrik Laine had a solid first season in Montreal; unfortunately, the injury bug has continued to follow him.
The most significant change in Toronto is the loss of star forward Mitch Marner. He was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, who signed him to a long-term contract. In an interview, Matthews mentioned that he will miss having Marner on the team, but they must move forward. It was time for the Leafs and Marner to move on from one another. The past core four in Toronto were not getting it done; a change was desperately needed. Young forwards like Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan will look to take impactful steps in their careers. Knies will become even more valued in Toronto since Marner is gone.
Who to watch on opening night
Going into opening night, Leafs captain Auston Matthews will be the player to watch. This will be his first season without having Marner by his side. Matthews and Nylander will need to continue their superstar production throughout the season. One can argue that they will have more pressure on them without Marner. For Matthews’ standards, last season was a bit of a slower year. He failed to score 40 goals for the first time since the 2018–19 NHL season. The upcoming year needs to be the best of Matthews’ career, considering the changes with the Leafs and the 2026 Olympics looming closer.
Do you think the Leafs will be alright without Marner?
