It’s September 20, 2026, and once again, I find myself nursing a coffee and wondering why I do this to myself. While the NHL schedule is cluttered with preseason exhibitions today—including matchups like Utah at Colorado and Seattle at Calgary—none of that matters. What matters is that yesterday, September 19, the Maple Leafs managed to drop two preseason games to Montreal, falling 4-1 and 3-4. Leave it to us to make exhibition hockey feel like a regular-season heartbreaker. It is a masterclass in conditioning; my heart is already broken before the puck even drops for real. Beyond the exhibition noise, we are still reeling from the long shadow of the Stanley Cup parade elsewhere and the endless chatter of free agency. The front office tinkered with the roster, promising a new identity, but seeing those results yesterday brings back that familiar, uncomfortable feeling of 1967. We are in the build-up phase, the period of cautious hope where we pretend this year will be different. It’s a burden being a Leafs fan, but at least the preseason doesn't count in the standings. Thank goodness for that, or we would be eliminated by October.