Canadiens share 2026-27 preseason schedule

MONTREAL – A new NHL schedule format is coming for the 2026-27 campaign, starting with preseason.

The Canadiens announced the club’s official 2026-27 preseason schedule on Friday, which begins on Saturday, Sept. 19 with a pair of 7:00 p.m. split-squad games against the Maple Leafs in Montreal and Toronto.

In total, the new shortened exhibition calendar features five games across three dates, including two pairs of simultaneous home-and-away split-squad games against rivals from Ontario.

The Canadiens will also travel to Trois-Rivières, QC for a tune-up contest at Colisée Vidéotron as part of the events celebrating the Kraft Hockeyville 2025 winning community of Saint-Boniface, QC.

Tickets for both 2026-27 preseason home games at the Bell Centre will go on sale on Wednesday, Aug. 5. For priority access to ticket presales and offers, fans can subscribe to the team’s official ticket sales newsletter here.

The compressed slate of exhibition games comes as the NHL gets set to debut a newly expanded 84-game regular season in 2026-27, replacing the previous 82-game schedule which had largely been in use since 1995-96. The full regular season schedule will be announced at a later date.