Mike Babcock will stand behind the home bench at Rogers Place on Saturday night and look across at the team that fired him. That would be enough to make Maple Leafs vs Oilers worth watching on its own. It's also the first meeting of 2026-27 between an Edmonton team flying behind a ridiculous Connor McDavid start and a Toronto team mid-reset, with a new GM, a new coach and a captain back from a bad knee injury. Puck drop is 7:00 p.m. ET (23:00 UTC) on Saturday, October 24.
Babcock and the club that let him go
Babcock had been out of the NHL for six years when the Oilers brought him out of retirement this summer to replace Kris Knoblauch, who was fired in May. His last job in the league ended in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs let him go 23 games into the 2019-20 season. He's 63 now, with 700 career wins and a 2008 Stanley Cup from his Detroit days.
So far the gamble has worked. The Oilers are 5-0-1 through six games, most recently a 4-1 win in Los Angeles on October 13, and this is only the third time in franchise history they've taken a point from every game to open a season.
Edmonton Oilers
Toronto Maple LeafsMcDavid, 17 points in six games
McDavid had four of those (a goal and three assists) against the Kings in what was also his 800th NHL game, and he became only the ninth player in league history with at least 50 four-point games. Everything Edmonton does through the neutral zone goes through him.
Leon Draisaitl scored in Los Angeles too, Vasily Podkolzin has been the surprise with a six-game point streak and nine points, and Evan Bouchard was leading the league in goals after the opening week. Toronto's blue line is still sorting out its pairings, and slowing that top six is the job of the night.
A very different Toronto
Brad Treliving was fired in March after Toronto's worst season in a decade. John Chayka took over as GM, Mats Sundin came in as a senior adviser, and Craig Berube is gone as well. Jim Hiller, formerly the head coach in Los Angeles, runs the bench now, with Daniel Alfredsson on his staff.
The roster has turned over just as much. Mitch Marner left in a sign-and-trade with Vegas, and the Leafs added veteran depth in Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime. Then there's Gavin McKenna, the teenage winger who arrived after Toronto won the draft lottery, making his first trip to Rogers Place with McDavid on the other bench.
The early road swing has been mixed, including a 5-4 loss in Utah on October 13, and shutdown defenseman Chris Tanev is on injured reserve.
Matthews has something to prove
Auston Matthews' 2025-26 season ended in mid-March with a grade 3 MCL tear after a hit from Radko Gudas. Before that he had career lows of 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games. He says he's fully healthy, and he has already scored on the power play on this road trip. Whether peak Matthews comes back is another matter.
Hiller has talked about easing his defensive and penalty-kill workload so he can focus on scoring. He'll see a lot of the McDavid line on Saturday, and the Leafs need him pushing play the other way.
The goalies could decide it
Neither team is settled in net. Edmonton allowed 3.23 goals per game last season, 25th in the league, and went out in the first round to Anaheim. Frederik Andersen, signed in July after winning the Cup with Carolina, is expected to miss most of October injured, so Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi have carried the load. Levi has won four straight, including a 39-save night against the Kings.
Toronto went for experience: Sergei Bobrovsky signed for three years, but he turns 38 this season and is coming off the weakest year of his career, and Anthony Stolarz slipped last season too. A soft goal early and that building gets loud.
When and where to watch Maple Leafs vs Oilers
Most listings, ESPN and the ticket sites included, have a 7:00 p.m. ET start (5:00 p.m. in Edmonton, midnight in the UK). One venue listing says 4:00 p.m. local, so check on game day. Canadian viewers should know CBC no longer carries NHL games as of this season, so national games are on Sportsnet. This Maple Leafs vs Oilers game is the first of two this regular season, and the second is in Toronto on November 14.
SportsNet Ontario
SportsNet Pacific
SportsNet WestWe'll have a free HD stream, no signup, on our NHL streams hub from about 30 minutes before puck drop. Game 2 of the World Series is the same night (our World Series 2026 guide has the baseball), and UFC 333 runs that afternoon on the UFC streams page. For more on Edmonton's lineup and goalies, the NHL.com Oilers season preview is a good read.
My pick
The Oilers are at home, on a heater, with McDavid playing like the best player in the world, which he is. Toronto has more talent than its early results suggest. I just don't think the Leafs know who they are under Hiller yet, and over 60 minutes that Edmonton top six should be too much. Oilers 4, Maple Leafs 2.
