The NHL’s 2026-27 regular season begins next week with each of the league’s 32 teams playing 84 games, including several high-profile dates involving Canadian clubs and Canucks captain Connor McDavid facing Vancouver’s rivals.
The Story
The NHL’s 2026-27 regular season opens next week with a 1,344-game schedule and each of the league’s 32 teams set to play 84 contests, an increase from 82 games last season. The league is returning to a longer schedule for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign after training camps were pared down over the summer. Among the season’s early storylines is a run of prominent games on opening night across multiple Canadian markets and major matchups expected to draw attention throughout the first month.
Five games are slated to start Tuesday with ceremonies and debuts headline the night. In Carolina, the Hurricanes will raise their Stanley Cup banner before facing the Florida Panthers. Toronto’s first game features No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna making his NHL debut as the Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens, while Edmonton’s opener marks the start of the Mike Babcock era as he coaches the Oilers against the Vancouver Canucks.
For Vancouver fans, the early calendar places the Canucks immediately in a marquee coaching matchup, with the Oilers and new head coach Connor McDavid facing Vancouver in Edmonton on opening night Tuesday. The Canucks also have another return trip on the schedule shortly after, when Quinn Hughes is set to come back to Vancouver on Oct. 25. Hughes, a former Canucks captain, won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman in 2023-24 before being traded to the Minnesota Wild last December.
Several additional dates point to early tests and notable player storylines. The Ottawa Senators will host Florida on Oct. 21 in the return of former captain Brady Tkachuk, who spent eight seasons in Ottawa after being selected fourth overall in the 2018 draft. Anaheim’s schedule includes a matchup on Oct. 24 that will be Leo Carlsson’s first game against the Philadelphia Flyers since the Flyers attempted to pry him out of California with an offer sheet this summer that Anaheim ultimately matched.
The league’s early slate also includes outdoor and rivalry-heavy entries for Canadian teams. Winnipeg will host Montreal for the season’s first outdoor game in the Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 25. The Jets enter that matchup with a 1-1-0 record in outdoor games, while Montreal is 2-2-0, setting up a contest between two clubs accustomed to playing in stadium settings.
Beyond October, the NHL calendar includes two other outdoor games in 2026-27. The Utah Mammoth will host the Colorado Avalanche in Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve in the Winter Classic, and the Vegas Golden Knights will visit the Dallas Stars in Arlington, Texas for the Stadium Series on Feb. 20. These events add to a season that begins with heightened attention on special-game atmospheres as well as regular contests.
Vancouver’s cross-country connection continues into the holiday stretch with another high-profile rematch. The Hurricanes are scheduled to visit the Golden Knights for a Cup final rematch on Dec. 21 in Las Vegas. Carolina won the Stanley Cup in June in six games, overcoming a series deficit of 1-0 and 2-1 in a best-of-seven against the Golden Knights.
Several schedule notes also reflect changes behind the bench and the continuing presence of marquee veterans. Ryan Craig is set to replace John Tortorella on the Vegas bench, with the coaching change coming three days after Carolina hoisted the Cup. In addition, Maple Leafs goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is scheduled to return to Florida to face the Panthers for the first time since signing with Toronto this summer, after helping Florida win consecutive Cups over the Oilers in 2024 and 2025.
The NHL’s calendar also features a return of the league’s signature midseason showcase. The all-star game and skills competition are scheduled to be back after being shelved for the past two years due to the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. UBS Arena in New York is set to host the events, including a 3-on-3 tournament featuring players from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden, as well as a “World” team.
Looking ahead to late-season storylines, the schedule includes a final regular-season matchup between two perennial stars. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals counterpart Alex Ovechkin are scheduled to play their fourth and final meeting of the campaign on April 4. With both players having begun their NHL careers together in 2005, the date is positioned as a late-season marker for the end of an era, even as neither has indicated it will be their final NHL season.
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