A month after the Hurricanes claimed their first title in 20 years, the NHL has formally turned the page to the 2026–27 season, unveiling a new-look, 84-game schedule.
The league released the full schedule for the upcoming season midday Thursday, with the slate adding beyond the prior 82-game format. The 84-game schedule was a core part of the labor deal struck last year between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association, and extending to September 2030.
The schedule expansion will involve two additional divisional games for each team, but also allows an even spread of those intradivisional contests for the first time since the Kraken entered the league in 2021. That enlargement means an earlier-than-ever start to the season, with the first batch of games scheduled for Sept. 29.
The labor deal also halves the number of preseason games to four per team.
National Profile
