The projected Maple Leafs 2026-27 opening night lines: Who gets left out?

Let's break down who is going to make the Maple Leafs lineup after a summer full of changes as the team looks to get back into playoff contention in 2026-27.

We here at HockeyPatrol have been writing a lot about the changes the Maple Leafs have gone through, but now it's time to break down the nitty gritty. John Chayka did his best to overhaul the entire organization through various hirings, firings, trades, signings, and draft picks.

In came names like Sergei Bobrovsky, Gavin McKenna, Colton Sissons, and Nick Paul among others meanwhile Jim Hiller replaced Craig Berube. There's a sense of freshness in the Maple Leafs organization right now, and while there's a lot of work still to do - there's a lot more hope than there was only a few months ago.

The 2026-27 Maple Leafs are a much more balanced group

So with that being said, the team needs to put out a lineup each game, and with all these changes there's going to be a much different look than we saw last year so let's break down how the team could line up once the puck drops in September.

2026-27 Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup:

McKenna - Matthews - Nylander
Cowan - Tavares - Knies
Sissons - Paul - Roslovic
Joshua - Blueger - Duhaime

McCabe - Raddysh
Rielly - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - Andrae

Bobrosvky
Stolarz

This lineup is one that seems to make the most sense for what the Maple Leafs are trying to accomplish as a whole. McKenna gives Matthews the playmaker he needs, and thrusts the youngster in the spotlight where he seems to thrive. Adding Nylander into the mix alleviates all the scoring responsibility for Matthews, and his speed will be a strong asset for McKenna on stretch passes.

Tavares stays where he has been for years, but gets two new partners in Knies and Cowan.

Tavares is both a strong playmaker and finisher, so he can benefit from Cowan's playmaking ability meanwhile Knies is a very strong scorer in his own right so Tavares isn't doing it all himself. Plus, there's a lot more tenacity with that line and it could be used as a hybrid offensive/checking line given that all three players are adept at winning board battles and playing physically.

The bottom-six is where we see the real changes, as Paul, Sissons, and Roslovic are all newcomers. The former two are meant to add a strong ability to kill penalties, play defence, and win important face-offs, meanwhile Roslovic adds another potential 20-goal scorer to the ranks.

Blueger and Duhaime are also newcomers though Blueger has history playing alongside Dakota Joshua in Vancouver, so there's some potential chemistry already in place, and Duhaime is a spark plug who loves to play physical and can swing momentum in Toronto's favour with his style of play.

The defence and goaltending are improving, but aren't a guarantee

Defence is also a new look as Raddysh comes in and solidifies the top pairing right side with McCabe - who becomes the de facto #1 shutdown defender. Rielly gets a bit less responsibility on the second pair, and gets a chance to add offence without the defensive pressure - though Toronto needs Tanev to stay healthy.

Ekman-Larsson gets a bit of a break from running things on the third pair alongside Andrae - a key asset that came to Toronto in the Joseph Woll trade. He's expected to add more mobility, physicality, and puck-movement to a lineup that sorely needs it.

But the main thing is that these players are going to need to stay healthy, and can't fall back into old habits where they spend two minutes in their own zone unable to clear the puck, and giving up too many dangerous chances.

Sergei Bobrovsky comes in as the new starter with Anthony Stolarz backing him up, though there are questions about putting your confidence in a soon to be 38-year old Bobrovsky and an injury prone Stolarz. Bobrovsky is coming off a down season with his worst career save percentage, meanwhile Stolarz dealt with several injuries over the past two seasons.

If they can stay healthy and play the elite way we've seen in the past, then the Maple Leafs should be able to handle the tough Atlantic Division, but we won't know until the puck drops on Sept. 29.