2006-2007 Schedule!

Schedule Out
The NHL has released the schedule for the upcoming 2006-2007 season. This season the Leafs will be facing the second toughest division in the league, the Northwest, in its crossover games. This means that all of those Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver fans get to see their first love, the Leafs, play their hometown teams. Sadly, for them (especially those bitter fans that so light up any Sportsnet blog with anti-Leafs venom) their teams won't get to reap the benefits of a guaranteed sellout because all of this games will take place in the friendly confines of the ACC.

The Leafs host:

• Calgary on October 14, 2006
• Vancouver on January 13, 2007
• Edmonton on February 17, 2007

Don't worry though, since it is the Leafs that they are playing the games with either be on Hockey Night In Canada on the National broadcast on TSN.

senators
Again, we face our arch-nemesis ottawa EIGHT times (I understand the need to build rivalries but both sets of fans know that that happens in the playoffs. And only when both teams have a chance of advancing.) including a season opening double header on October 4 and 5, 2006

Other dates include:

• HOME - October 24, 2006
• AWAY - October 26, 2006
• HOME - December 30, 2006
• AWAY - February 3, 2007
• AWAY - March 8, 2007
• HOME - March 10, 2007

Montreal
Our Original 6 cousins match up with us eight times as well. These games will likely go a long way towards determining out playoff spot (last year's blow up games in Montreal attest to that fact). Our first game is at home on October 7, 2006 followed by our first visit to the Gillette Centre (or is it Bell?) three weeks later on October 28, 2006.

The rest of the matches:

• HOME - November 11, 2006
• AWAY - December 2, 2006
• HOME - January 27, 2007
• AWAY - February 26, 2007
• AWAY - March 17, 2007
• HOME - April 7, 2007

That last home game against the Habs is also the final game in the season.

Other Notable Dates
Other games of interest include the January 9, 2007 visit of the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes to the ACC and a December 9, 2007 visit to Joe Louis Arena to face off with the Stevie Y-less Red Wings.

As always, guaranteed losses should be pencilled in on:

• November 4, 2006
• November 22, 2006
• January 11, 2007
• March 23, 2007

Those are the dates that we visit Alphabet Arena in Buffalo, a traditional burial ground for Leafs teams.

Well that's all of the special stuff. As usual it features too many games against the Northeast, not enough trips out west (free points in Western Canada are fun!), and too much Southeast Division.