The Toronto Maple Leafs begin their second lengthy venture west in the season’s opening month, which, depending on how they fare, could be a big positive. The Leafs begin their four-game sojourn on Saturday night against former head coach Mike Babcock, NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid, and the Edmonton Oilers, followed by the rest of the Western Canada leg (Calgary, Vancouver) and the Pacific Northwest (Seattle).
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Toronto will have an advantage over some other Eastern Conference clubs because it will have two of its longest road trips of the campaign out of the way, with only the late-December swing through California remaining. What is in question is whether the Leafs, coming off a three-game winning streak, can beat one of the hottest clubs in the NHL in Edmonton, as well as the Kraken (currently 7-3-1) and two of the worst records in the Western Conference: the 3-6-0 Flames, and the NHL’s worst record in the 2-9-1 Canucks.
The Leafs enter the road swing with depleted numbers on the blueline, as both Marshall Rifai and Nick Blankenburg were placed on injured reserve on Friday. The club recalled Dakota Mermis and Cole McWard, both of whom have NHL experience. Mermis has played 89 NHL games for five clubs, including 14 games for Toronto the last two seasons, and McWard, the 25-year-old who has spent brief stints with Vancouver and the NY Islanders.
Toronto obviously went with defenders with some experience (although they did not bring up the lumbering Philippe Myers) over promising youngsters Ben Danford, Vinny Borgesi and Noah Chadwick.
It is expected that Mermis will partner with former Coyote teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the bottom pairing vs. the Oilers, who are tied for the NHL scoring lead with 47 goals. Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the start for the Leafs, while Tristan Jarry will be between the pipes for Edmonton, since starter Devon Levi was placed on injured reserve on Friday.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (6-4-2 – 14 POINTS) vs. EDMONTON OILERS (8-1-1 – 17 POINTS)
OCTOBER 24, 2026 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ ROGERS PLACE (EDMONTON, AB) TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590
TORONTO’S HISTORY vs. EDMONTON
| All-Time Record: | 65-47-8-3 (123 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 30-27-6-2 (65 Games) |
| 2025-26: | 1-1-0 |
| Last Five: | 4-1-0 |
| Last 10: | 7-3-0 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | November 11, 1979 (Toronto 6 at Edmonton 3) |
| All-Time Record: | 65-47-8-3 (123 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 35-20-2-1 (58 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 30-27-6-2 (65 Games) |
| Last Road Win vs. Opponent: | February 3, 2026 (Toronto 5 at Edmonton 2) |
MAPLE LEAFS / OILERS – 2026-27 TEAM STATS
| EDMONTON | TORONTO | |
| Team Rank: | 1st (Pacific) | 3rd (Atlantic) |
| Goals For Per Game: | 4.6 (1st) | 3.58 (8th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.2 (19th) | 3.17 (18th) |
| Power Play %: | 35.3 (2nd) | 28.6 (3rd-T) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 72.4 (23rd) | 97.4 (1st) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 24.8 (26th) | 28.4 (12th) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 26.6 (15th) | 29.8 (25th) |
| Faceoff %: | 50.2 (17th) | 51.9 (10th) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
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