The Toronto Maple Leafs kick off the 2025-26 preseason with a date against their Ontario rivals. The same team they eliminated in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, just 143 days ago. The Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators back on May 1, winning the series 4-2.
Now both teams return to the ice, with the Maple Leafs looking very different without star forward Mitch Marner, who left the organization in July. Brad Treliving has done a good job trying to fill holes in the lineup and make this team look more like his style. Still, it’s going to be tough to fill the void left by Marner and his 100-point season.
Related: Nicolas Roy Could Be the Maple Leafs’ Most Underrated Weapon
Fans shouldn’t expect the team to be the same offensive machine they’ve been in the past. Instead, they’ll play a heavier style and use the body more. That’s exactly how Treliving and head coach Craig Berube want the game played. You can still count on the top players to produce offensively, but the bottom-six should be much harder to play against.
Today, we get the first look at the new version of the Maple Leafs. Now, it doesn’t matter as much since it’s just preseason, but fans will still get to see a glimpse of the style the front office and coaching staff want the team to play.
Maple Leafs News
Even though training camp has only just opened, there are already a few lingering injuries from the offseason. Yesterday, before practice, the Maple Leafs announced several players would be out. Defenseman Simon Benoit is dealing with an upper-body issue. Nicolas Roy has a lower-body injury, which Berube described as “just a little nicked up.” Joseph Woll is fighting an illness but isn’t expected to be out long.
Max Domi is another forward dealing with an injury, though he’s been out since the start of camp. TSN’s Mark Masters reported that Berube expects Domi to skate with the non-playing group ahead of their first preseason game.
Projected Lineups
These are just projections and could change before puck drop.
Toronto Maple Leafs:
Nick Robertson – David Kampf – Easton Cowan
Michael Pezzetta – Bo Groulx – Calle Jarnkrok
Travs Boyd – Luke Haymes – Vinni Lettieri
Landon Sim – Jacob Quillan – Matthew Barbolini
Henry Thrun – Philippe Myers
Dakota Mermis – William Villeneuve
Marshall Rifai – Ben Danford
Artur Akhtyamov
Vyacheslav Peksa
Ottawa Senators:
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stutzle – Claude Giroux
David Perron -Ridley Greig – Drake Batherson
Nick Cousins – Jan Jenik – Zach MacEwen
Olle Lycksell – Oskar Pettersson – Arthur Kaliyev
Thomas Chabot – Nikolas Matinpalo
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Donovan Sebrango – Lassi Thomson
Linus Ullmark
Mads Sogaard
Hockey is back. There’s a chill in the air, and fans are excited. Yes, it’s only preseason, but it’s one step closer to the 2025-26 season, when every fan base is filled with hope. For the Maple Leafs, the hope is that optimism carries over into the season and that all the new changes pay off with a strong year.
