Four Canadian teams make their debuts tonight on Day 2 of the 2025-26 NHL season.
The day’s schedule features two classic all-Canadian rivalries as the Edmonton Oilers welcome the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens.
The Maple Leafs begin the season looking for an elusive deep playoff run, but they will have to do it without departed star forward Mitch Marner. Goalie Joseph Woll is not with the team as he tends to a personal matter, and Scott Laughton is out with a lower-body injury.
Easton Cowan is with the Toronto Maple Leafs on opening day, but he won’t see any game action.
The top prospect was recalled from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies ahead of the Maple Leafs’ season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday (Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET).
However, head coach Craig Berube told reporters that he would be a healthy scratch.
In a corresponding move, fellow forward Jacob Quillan was sent down to the AHL.
General manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday that the goal of sending Cowan down was to give him consistent playing time.
“He’s not on the roster today and we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” Treliving told reporters. “He’s right there ready to play for us. We want to manage it appropriately. If he’s going to be playing with us here, great. But if not, I want him playing.”
The Canadiens, meanwhile, surprised many by making the playoffs last season and will be looking to take the next step with a talented young core.
The Oilers, who finished runner-up to Florida in the last two Stanley Cup finals, enter the season as a championship favourite and are on a high after superstar captain Connor McDavid signed a team-friendly contract extension to keep him in Edmonton another two years.
Their Alberta rivals from Calgary also enter the season with high hopes, looking to build on a positive 2024-25 season that saw them narrowly miss the playoffs.
Canada’s other three teams play their first games tomorrow as the Ottawa Senators visit Tampa Bay, the Winnipeg Jets welcome Dallas, and the Vancouver Canucks entertain Calgary.