The Toronto Maple Leafs' 2026-27 schedule has been released and it tells us when we'll see some old faces return to Toronto while showing off new ones to rivals.
After a bit of anticipation, the Toronto Maple Leafs' schedule was released on Thursday and while we already knew when the team was going to make their home opener, other dates such as anticipated returns were still yet to be known.
Now that we do know when the team is going to be playing this season, we can start to narrow downtime of the important dates that Maple Leafs fans need to circle. Sept. 29 is the start of Toronto's journey to the Stanley Cup, but here's some other games to mark on the calendar.
Sergei Bobrovsky's Florida return will test Toronto's biggest offseason investment
On December 3, Sergei Bobrovsky heads to sunny Florida once again but this time as the enemy. Toronto's biggest free agent splash is going to have a lot of expectations and has the perfect chance to show Maple Leafs fans why the investment was worth the price.
$7-million per year is a lot for a soon-to-be 38-year-old, so if there's any team who can put him merit to the test; it's Florida.
And it would be poetic to come into Florida and shut down the Panthers and not only give them some misery, but also keep giving Brady Tkachuk headaches regardless of where he goes. Just because he's not on Ottawa doesn't mean he's not going to be an issue, and a strong game where he's outplayed is a great deterrent.
Wanna know something even better? Bobrovsky's career numbers against Florida.
He has a 13-1-2 record with a 1.94 GAA and .940 SV%, so you're adding a player who historically has completely neutralized the Panthers. He'll need to do more of that for sure, but a return to Florida could lead to Bobrovsky taming the otherwise vicious Panthers.
Joseph Woll's return will reopen the Maple Leafs' goaltending debate
A few days prior to Bobrovsky going back to Florida, Toronto will welcome two familiar faces for their return to the city: Simon Benoit and Joseph Woll.
Traded prior to the draft for Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae and a draft pick, Woll is now expected to be part of a strong 1-2 tandem with Dan Vladar - who just re-signed for the next few years. He was someone who had his ups and downs in Toronto, but was beloved nonetheless.
Woll left Toronto with a 63-43-9 record and a 2.94 GAA and .906 SV% though some injury issues have popped up recently with his most recent showing at the IIHF World Championships being a complete disaster.
But if he comes in and keeps Toronto's offence at bay, and continues to stay healthy and be that reliable goalie, it's going to be hard to stomach given that Toronto got rid of him for really nothing too spectacular.
That's a big if though, and unless he has some protection in front of him then there may be no heart for Woll in the City of Brotherly Love and proof that Toronto made the right decision at the end of the day.
Nick Robertson's return could show whether Toronto sold low
Fast forward to 2027, arguably the most polarizing figure in recent memory is set to return to Toronto.
Nick Robertson was a decent player who never really showed a second gear and could have been a top-six staple but never kicked through the glass ceiling. He had a career-high 16 goals last year but he has a combined 88 points for his career and just now hit the 30-point mark; hardly what we expected from a second-round scorer.
Fresh into a new deal and now in Pittsburgh, Robertson has a chip on his shoulders and could have a ton of motivation to put Toronto to bed when the two meet. He won't get booed and there will be some cheers, but what could've been is a lot more interesting than what was.
We're just hoping that Robertson's potential wasn't wasted and we're looking at the top-six star we were sold in 2019.
Which former Maple Leaf are you most excited to see return?
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