10 things to know about 2026-27 NHL regular season

The NHL announced the 2026-27 regular-season schedule, which will feature an all-time high of 1,344 games played across 194 days with a rare September start as teams contest an expanded 84-game campaign for the first time in 33 years. The 194-day span includes 185 game days, including two where all 32 teams will be in action.

Below are 10 things to know about the 2026-27 regular-season schedule.

84-GAME SCHEDULE RETURNS

The 2026-27 campaign marks the third in the NHL’s 109-season history where teams will play 84 games, with the two previous instances occurring in 1993-94 and 1992-93 when clubs had at least two neutral-site contests during each one in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Indianapolis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Peoria, Phoenix, Providence, Richfield, Sacramento or Saskatoon. Each team’s two extra contests during the 2026-27 season will be a home and road game against divisional opponents.

* Nearly every day from Sept. 29 to April 10 will feature at least one contest and the only dates with no games outside of the holiday and NHL All-Star break (Dec. 23-25 & Feb. 4-7, respectively) land on Nov. 20 and Nov. 26. The League will feature contests on Boxing Day for the first time since 2015, with the 11-game slate highlighted by the Canadiens hosting the Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET.

* All 32 teams will be in action across 16 different start times on Oct. 13, and the campaign’s second 16-game day will take place during the regular-season finale on April 10. The season will conclude with every team in action for the fifth time during the League’s expansion era (also 15 GP on April 11, 2015 & April 7, 2012; 9 GP on April 3, 1977 & April 4, 1976).

* April 10 will also feature 12 games between divisional opponents, tying the highest single-day total in NHL history (also 12 GP on Dec. 27, 2023; excluding the 2020-21 season which was exclusively intradivisional play).

Scheduling matrix for the 2026-27 campaign:

Games Within Division – 28 total games for each team
7 teams x 2 home / 2 away (Subtotal 14 home / 14 away)

Games Within Conference (Non-Division) – 24 total games for each team
4 teams x 2 home / 1 away (Subtotal 8 home / 4 away)
4 teams x 1 home / 2 away (Subtotal 4 home / 8 away)

Non-Conference Games – 32 total games for each team
16 teams x 1 home / 1 away (Subtotal 16 home / 16 away)

Grand Total – 84 Games
42 home / 42 away

SEASON STARTS ON SEPT. 29

The regular season will start in September for the second time in NHL history following the 2007-08 campaign, which opened with a back-to-back set between the Ducks and Kings during the Premiere Series at O2 Arena in London, England. The only other instance in League history where games were played in September (excluding preseason contests) was during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when a total of 25 took place in the neutral-site “bubbles” at Rogers Place and Scotiabank Arena.

OPENING NIGHT HAS ESPN TRIPLEHEADER, SPORTSNET TWO-PACK

The 2026-27 season starts with an ESPN tripleheader featuring the reigning-champion Hurricanes raising their Stanley Cup banner against the Panthers, followed by the Bruins hosting the Rangers and the Blackhawks visiting the Golden Knights. Opening night will also feature a Sportsnet doubleheader involving the Maple Leafs hosting the Canadiens and the Canucks visiting the Oilers.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers (5 p.m. ET on ESPN)
* This marks the third time in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) where each of the two previous Stanley Cup champions will play a mutual season-opening game. The two prior instances were between the Blues and Capitals (Oct. 2, 2019) as well as the Black Hawks and Maple Leafs (Oct. 10, 1962).

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET on ESPN)
* The Bruins and Rangers will play their 10th mutual season-opening game, tying the Red Wings and Rangers for the second most between U.S. franchises in NHL history. The list is topped by Detroit and Chicago (11 GP).

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Chicago Blackhawks (10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)
* The Golden Knights hit the ice for the first time since Game 6 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final and will be the 32nd different franchise that the Blackhawks have faced in a season-opening contest, which marks the most among all teams.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet)
* The Maple Leafs and Canadiens will contest their 24th mutual season-opening game – including their seventh in as many campaigns since 2020-21 – to extend the NHL mark for most between two franchises. The contest could feature the League debut by No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET on Sportsnet)
* The Oilers and Canucks will play their eighth mutual season-opening game. The only pairs of Canadian teams to contest as many in NHL history are the Canadiens and Maple Leafs (24 GP, including 2026-27), Canucks and Flames (11 GP) as well as the Flames and Oilers (8 GP).

NHL ON TNT MAKES SEASON DEBUT ON SEPT. 30

NHL on TNT will make its season debut the following night on Sept. 30 with a doubleheader featuring the Flyers hosting the Penguins (7:30 p.m. ET) followed by the Kings visiting the Avalanche (10 p.m. ET).

* The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), TNT Sports (TNT/HBO Max) and Sportsnet are the NHL’s national broadcast partners for the 2026-27 season and will provide comprehensive coverage throughout the season. Complete broadcast details will be announced when available.

FINLAND, GERMANY TO HOST GLOBAL SERIES GAMES

The NHL is headed overseas for a fifth straight season, with the 2026 Global Series Finland to feature Carolina and Seattle at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki (2 GP from Nov. 12-14) and the 2026 Global Series Germany headlined by Chicago and Ottawa at PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf (2 GP from Dec. 18-20). The former will mark the League’s 12th and 13th regular-season games in Finland – second most among all non-North American countries behind Sweden (19 GP) – while the latter will be the NHL’s second and third in Germany after the 2011 Premiere Series between the Kings and Sabres at O2 Berlin Arena.

* The 16th campaign in League history to feature at least one regular-season game outside North America will bring the NHL’s total number of those contests to 52. The Kraken will be the 27th active franchise to play in one and the Hurricanes will be the fourth reigning Stanley Cup champions to do so after the 2024-25 Panthers (2 GP in Tampere, Finland), 2022-23 Avalanche (2 GP in Tampere, Finland) and 2007-08 Ducks (2 GP in London, England).

* A new fixture for the 2026-27 season is a steady stream of Monday weekday matinee/European primetime games, providing passionate hockey fans abroad the ability to watch their favorite teams – and some of the NHL’s biggest stars – in primetime during the week.

GOING OUTDOORS

The 2026-27 season features three outdoor games: the Jets host the Canadiens during the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg (Oct. 25); the Avalanche visit the Mammoth during the Discover NHL Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City (Dec. 31); and the Stars face the Golden Knights during the 2027 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (Feb. 20).

* The eighth campaign in NHL history to feature three or more outdoor games will bring the League’s total number of those contests to 48, including 43 unique matchups. The Mammoth will be the 32nd team to contest an open-air contest – meaning every active franchise will have played at least one – and Utah will become the 21st U.S. state (including Washington, D.C.) to host an outdoor game.

NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND RETURNS TO LONG ISLAND

The Honda NHL All-Star Weekend returns for the first time since the 2023-24 season and will take place at UBS Arena from Feb. 5-6, nearly 44 years after the last All-Star Game on Long Island when Wayne Gretzky was named MVP (Feb. 8, 1983).

* The event will include the 2027 NHL All-Star Skills (Feb. 5) with 10 young stars ages 25 or younger competing across eight events followed by the 2027 Honda NHL All-Star Game (Feb. 6) featuring five teams of 11 players each – Canada, Finland, Sweden, United States and a “World” team comprised of international players from countries outside of the other four teams – competing in a three-on-three, round-robin exhibition tournament. Rogers will be the presenting sponsor of NHL All-Star in Canada.

KEY PLAYER MATCHUPS AND NOTABLE RETURNS

A look at when some key player matchups will take place during the 2026-27 season:

• Sidney Crosby (PIT) vs. Alex Ovechkin (WSH): The longtime rivals who each enter their 22nd season and rank among the top 10 on the NHL’s all-time points list will meet for the first time on Oct. 7 in Washington, D.C. The other matchups are on Jan. 18, March 13 and April 4.

• Nikita Kucherov (TBL) vs. Connor McDavid (EDM): The two leading scorers from last season who have nine combined Art Ross Trophy wins will meet for the first time on Nov. 19 in Tampa. The other matchup is on Jan. 11.

• Gavin McKenna (TOR) vs. Matthew Schaefer (NYI): The last two No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft could meet for the first time on Sept. 30 in Toronto. The other matchups are on Oct. 17 and Nov. 23.

• Sidney Crosby (PIT) vs. Nathan MacKinnon (COL): The longtime friends and Nova Scotia natives who represented Team Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and 4 Nations Face-Off will meet for the first time on Oct. 16 in Denver. The other matchup is on Jan. 12.

• Cale Makar (COL) vs. Zach Werenski (CBJ): The last two James Norris Memorial Trophy winners and Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 opponents will meet for the first time on Nov. 3 in Columbus. The other matchup is on Feb. 15.

• Lane Hutson (MTL) vs. Matthew Schaefer (NYI): The last two Calder Memorial Trophy winners will meet for the first time on Feb. 20 in Montreal. The other matchups are on March 9 and April 4.

• Connor Bedard (CHI) vs. Macklin Celebrini (SJS): The North Vancouver natives and No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft could meet for the first time on Jan. 30 in San Jose followed by matchups on Feb. 10 and March 16. Bedard is expected to return to the lineup November and Celebrini was recently unveiled as the cover athlete for EA Sports NHL 27.

A look at when several notable players on new teams will face their former club during the 2026-27 season:

• Frederik Andersen (EDM): The 2026 Stanley Cup winner faces the Hurricanes for the first time in Edmonton on Oct. 22 and for the first time in Raleigh on Nov. 21.

• Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA): The 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup winner plays the Panthers for the first time in Toronto on Dec. 3 and for the first time in Sunrise on March 6.

• John Carlson (TBL): The 2018 Stanley Cup winner and Capitals’ all-time leader in points by a defenseman faces them for the first time in Tampa on Oct. 3 and for the first time in Washington, D.C. on March 15.

• Brendan Gallagher (VAN): The 14-season veteran with the Canadiens plays them for the first time in Vancouver on Feb. 1 and for the first time in Montreal on March 6.

• Radko Gudas (FLA): The former Ducks captain faces them for the first time in Anaheim on Oct 4.

• Boone Jenner (WSH): The former Blue Jackets captain plays them for the first time in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 26 and for the first time in Columbus on Dec. 31.

• Jordan Kyrou (WSH): The three-time 30-goal scorer with the Blues plays them for the first time in St. Louis on Nov. 28.

• Anders Lee (UTA): The former Islanders captain faces them for the first time in Salt Lake City on Dec. 15 and for the first time in Elmont on Feb. 15.

• Brady Tkachuk (FLA): The former Senators captain faces them for the first time in Ottawa on Oct. 21.

STANLEY CUP FINAL REMATCH

The Hurricanes and Golden Knights will play their first head-to-head game on Dec. 21. Since 1926-27 when the Stanley Cup came under the control of NHL, reigning champions hold an all-time record of 54-35-6 in the first contest against their Final opponent during the ensuing regular season (runner-up: 36-51-8).

ROAD TRIPS, HOMESTANDS AND BACK-TO-BACKS

The Maple Leafs (7 GP from Dec. 22 – Jan. 7), Canucks (7 GP from Jan. 18-30), Kings (7 GP from Jan. 23 – Feb. 9) and Devils (7 GP from Jan. 28 – Feb. 18) have the longest road trips this season, while the Ducks own the lengthiest homestand (10 GP from Dec. 22 – Jan. 14). The Penguins (15) have the most back-to-back sets this season, while the Flames and Golden Knights (both w/ 8) own the fewest.