Look, being a Leafs fan is basically an endurance sport. You know it, I know it. We spend all October and November overanalyzing line combinations, only to realize that the real "meat" of the season doesn't actually hit until the calendar flips. Well, we've flipped it. It is January 17, 2026, and if you haven't looked at the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs schedule lately, you might want to sit down. The stretch we are entering right now is a gauntlet. It is messy, it is heavy on travel, and it includes a massive Olympic-sized hole in the middle of February that changes the entire rhythm of the room.
Honestly, the schedule makers didn't do Toronto many favors this year. We are currently in the middle of a massive month where the team is slated to play 16 games. Think about that. That's a game every other night, plus a few back-to-backs thrown in just to test the depth of the goaltending. Tonight, the boys are in Winnipeg for a 7:00 PM EST puck drop against the Jets. It’s Hockey Day in Canada. The atmosphere will be electric, but the legs are going to be heavy.
The January Home Stand and the Marner Factor
If you can survive the trip to Manitoba tonight, the schedule finally offers a bit of a breather—at least in terms of sleeping in your own bed. Starting Monday, January 19, the Leafs kick off a five-game home stand at Scotiabank Arena. This is arguably the most critical window of the regular season.
- Jan 19 vs. Minnesota Wild (7:30 PM): A sneaky tough matchup against a team that usually plays the Leafs hard.
- Jan 21 vs. Detroit Red Wings (7:00 PM): An Original Six clash that will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
- Jan 23 vs. Vegas Golden Knights (7:00 PM): This is the one everyone has circled. Mitch Marner returns to Toronto for the first time since signing that massive extension in the desert. It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be weird, and the ticket prices on the secondary market are already north of $185.
- Jan 25 vs. Colorado Avalanche (1:30 PM): A rare Sunday matinee against MacKinnon and company.
- Jan 27 vs. Buffalo Sabres (7:00 PM): The final home game before the Western swing.
The reunion with Marner is the narrative peak of the month. Since he moved to Vegas on July 1, 2025, there’s been a lot of "what if" talk around the city. Seeing him in a Golden Knights sweater at the Scotiabank Arena will either be a moment of closure or a fresh wound, depending on how the game goes.
The Olympic Break: A Blessing or a Curse?
Everything changes in February. Unlike a normal year where we’d be pushing through the mid-season doldrums, the 2025-26 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs schedule has a literal 19-day gap. Because of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, the NHL is pausing from February 6 through February 24.
This creates a weird dynamic. For guys like Auston Matthews and William Nylander, there is no rest. They’ll be flying to Italy to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage. For the rest of the roster? It’s a three-week vacation in the middle of a playoff race. History shows us that teams usually come out of these breaks either red-hot or completely out of sync.
Before they head to the airport, the Leafs have a brutal Western Canada road trip. They play Seattle on January 29, Vancouver on the 31st, Calgary on February 2, and Edmonton on February 3. That Edmonton game—Matthews vs. McDavid—is the final "show me" game before the Olympic break. If the Leafs can sweep that trip, they can go into the hiatus with their heads high. If they stumble, it’s a long three weeks of sports talk radio wondering if the wheels are falling off.
Life After the Olympics: The Sprint to April
When the league resumes on February 25, the schedule doesn't exactly get easier. The Leafs start on the road in Florida, facing Tampa Bay and the Panthers on back-to-back nights. That is a brutal way to wake up from a three-week nap.
March is where the volume stays high. The team has nine road games in March alone. You’ve got the trade deadline on March 6, which always adds a layer of anxiety to the locker room. By the time they hit the final stretch in April, the focus will shift entirely to the Atlantic Division standings.
The regular season wraps up on April 15, 2026, in Ottawa. It’s a classic Battle of Ontario finish. Usually, by that point, we’re just praying for everyone to stay healthy for Game 1 of the playoffs, but with how tight the East is this year, that game at the Canadian Tire Centre might actually have seeding implications.
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Practical Advice for Following the Schedule
If you're trying to actually watch these games without losing your mind over blackouts and streaming rights, here is the basic breakdown of how to find the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs schedule on your TV.
In Canada, Sportsnet and CBC handle the big Saturday nights. TSN4 still carries a massive chunk of the regional games—about 26 of them this season—but you have to be in the "Leafs region" to get those. If you’re a cord-cutter, Sportsnet+ is basically your only legal path to seeing everything without a cable box.
For fans south of the border, the ESPN and TNT schedules have been much kinder to Toronto this year. The games on January 21 (Detroit) and January 25 (Colorado) are both national broadcasts in the U.S., meaning you won't need an out-of-market package to see them.
Actionable Insights for Fans
Planning your life around the Leafs is a science. If you’re looking to buy tickets, the Tuesday night games in March (like the March 17 game against the Islanders) are generally your best bet for avoiding the "Saturday Night Premium."
Keep a very close eye on the "Back-to-Back" situations. The Leafs have 15 of them this year. Those are the games where the backup goalie usually starts, and the Corsi numbers usually tank in the third period. If you’re betting or playing fantasy, those are the trap games to watch out for.
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The most important thing right now is survival. Between the Marner return, the 16-game January, and the Olympic hiatus, the next two months are going to define whether this team is a true contender or just another "good on paper" squad. Secure your viewing setup, keep the schedule handy, and maybe stock up on some antacids. It’s going to be a long winter.