NHL teams get creative for 2026-27 schedule release

The Stanley Cup for NHL social teams is officially here: schedule release day.

On Thursday, NHL teams posted creative videos to announce their 2026-27 schedules on social media.

The Boston Bruins admins conveniently took a vacation leaving defenseman Nikita Zadorov in charge of posting the team’s upcoming schedule.

Zadorov recruited teammates Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, Bruins mascot Blades and anthem singer Todd Angilly to brainstorm ideas for the post. The group ended up just posting the schedule on X.

The Dallas Stars tried to help hockey fans not turn into their parents.

Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans attempted to fool his teammates with the team’s 1992-93 schedule. Teammate Alex Newhook was impressed with all the Heritage logos until it dawned on him, something wasn’t right.

The St. Louis Blues kept it simple, posting a video of the team’s schedule on a PDF with the caption, “this could’ve been an email.”

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy narrated the team’s 84-chapter manuscript.

“Smashville Night Live” announced the Nashville Predators schedule.

New York Islanders interns Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin were forced to work together on the schedule release to settle their office rivalry.

The Chicago Blackhawks featured their opponents as “uniquely Chicago things” such as a rat hole for the Florida Panthers and “The Bean” for the Bruins.

The Pittsburgh Penguins visited businesses along the Strip District to announce their schedule.

The Anaheim Ducks ripped open a deck of trading cards to unveil their opponents.

All 32 NHL teams are set to play 84 games this season, up from 82. The 2026-27 season with start on Sept. 29 with five games on ESPN and Sportsnet.

The Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes will kick off the ESPN tripleheader at Lenovo Center (5 p.m. ET) followed by the New York Rangers against the Bruins at TD Garden (8 p.m. ET) and the Blackhawks against the Golden Knights (10:30 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena.  

Over on Sportsnet, the Canadiens will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET) followed by the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place (10 p.m. ET).