Toronto Maple Leafs fans will have to wait a few months before letting Mitch Marner know their feelings toward his departure.
Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights are set to make their lone trip to Toronto on Jan. 23 as the NHL unveiled its full schedule on Wednesday.
The Toronto-born forward’s first game against his hometown team will come just eight days earlier on Jan. 15 in Vegas.
Marner left the Maple Leafs for an eight-year deal with the Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade ahead of free agency, fleeing the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2015. Toronto received centre Nicolas Roy in the deal with Vegas.
The reception at Scotiabank Arena for the former hometown hero is sure to be a hot topic of discussion in the lead-up to the game, as Marner statistically ranks among the best Leafs of all-time, but failed to get past the second round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs will open their schedule at home on Oct. 8 against their rival Montreal Canadiens — a young, up-and-coming squad which just returned to the playoffs.
They will face the Panthers, who eliminated them in seven games in Round 2, for the first time on the road on Dec. 2. The Panthers will visit Toronto on Jan. 6 and April 11.
Other highlights include a four-game Western road trip spanning Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton from Jan. 29 through Feb. 3, which leads right into the Olympic break.
The Leafs pick back up on the other side with a Florida back-to-back on Feb. 25 and 26 on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
Toronto’s schedule concludes on April 15 on the road against the Ottawa Senators — a rematch of the first-round series that the Maple Leafs won in six games.
Full Maple Leafs schedule
Oct. 8 vs. Canadiens
Oct. 11 at Red Wings
Oct. 13 vs. Red Wings
Oct. 14 vs. Predators
Oct. 16 vs. Rangers
Oct. 18 vs. Kraken
Oct. 21 vs. Devils
Oct. 24 at Sabres
Oct. 25 vs. Sabres
Oct. 28 vs. Flames
Oct. 29 at Blue Jackets
Nov. 1 at Flyers
Nov. 3 vs. Penguins
Nov. 5 vs. Mammoth
Nov. 8 vs. Bruins
Nov. 9 vs. Hurricanes
Nov. 11 at Bruins
Nov. 13 vs. Kings
Nov. 15 at Blackhawks
Nov. 18 vs. Blues
Nov. 20 vs. Blue Jackets
Nov. 22 at Canadiens
Nov. 26 at Blue Jackets
Nov. 28 at Capitals
Nov. 29 at Penguins
Dec. 2 at Panthers
Dec. 4 at Hurricanes
Dec. 6 vs. Canadiens
Dec. 8 vs. Lightning
Dec. 11 vs. Sharks
Dec. 13 vs. Oilers
Dec. 16 vs. Blackhawks
Dec. 18 at Capitals
Dec. 20 at Predators
Dec. 21 at Stars
Dec. 23 vs. Penguins
Dec. 27 vs. Senators
Dec. 28 at Red Wings
Dec. 30 vs. Devils
Jan. 1 vs. Jets
Jan. 3 at Islanders
Jan. 6 vs. Panthers
Jan. 8 at Flyers
Jan. 10 vs. Canucks
Jan. 12 at Avalanche
Jan. 13 at Mammoth
Jan. 15 at Golden Knights
Jan. 17 at Jets
Jan. 19 vs. Wild
Jan. 21 vs. Red Wings
Jan. 23 vs. Golden Knights
Jan. 25 vs. Avalanche
Jan. 27 vs. Sabres
Jan. 29 at Kraken
Jan. 31 at Canucks
Feb. 2 at Flames
Feb. 3 at Oilers
Feb. 25 at Lightning
Feb. 26 at Panthers
Feb. 28 vs. Senators
March 2 vs. Flyers
March 4 at Devils
March 5 at Rangers
March 7 vs. Lightning
March 10 at Canadiens
March 12 vs. Ducks
March 14 at Sabres
March 15 at Wild
March 17 vs. Islanders
March 20 vs. Hurricanes
March 21 at Senators
March 24 at Bruins
March 25 vs. Rangers
March 28 at Blues
March 30 at Ducks
April 2 at Sharks
April 4 at Kings
April 8 vs. Capitals
April 9 at Islanders
April 11 vs. Panthers
April 13 vs. Stars
April 15 at Senators
