Line Rushes Reveal Maple Leafs' Projected Opening Night Lineup Against Canadiens

On Monday afternoon, the Leafs announced their official roster and to the surprise of almost everyone, Easton Cowan's name was omitted.

Given the injuries to Marshall RIfai and Scott Laughton, the Leafs were forced to leave Cowan off of the roster to get as close to the cap as possible for LTIR purposes. Whether the 20-year-old returns to the club in the coming days remains to be seen, but it remains a very real possibility.

In the meantime, the Leafs will get set to open the 2025-2026 season on Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens. Taking to the ice on Tuesday morning for one final practice, the Leafs unveiled their projected lineup for Wednesday's game.

Up front, it is Matias Maccelli that will get the first opportunity on the Leafs' top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, while Max Domi drops down to center the third line in the wake of Scott Laughton's injury.

Domi was flanked by newcomer Dakota Joshua and Nicholas Robertson as the young forward made a good enough impression to land a spot in the opening night lineup after previously skating as a scratch.

Another newcomer, Nicolas Roy, was slotted into Laughton's spot on the fourth line between Steven Lorentz and a finally healthy Calle Jarnkrok, leaving Monday's waiver claim Sammy Blais skating as the 13th forward.

On the back-end, the defensive pairs remain the same from last season, with Brandon Carlo and Morgan Rielly leading the way, followed by the shutdown tandem of Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev.

After battling an injury at the start of camp, Simon Benoit returns to the third pair with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while Cayden Primeau was the only other goalie on the ice with Anthony Stolarz.

In just over 24 hours, a new era for the Maple Leafs begins, with the hope that a revamped forward group will help lead to a better fate in 2025-26.