NHL fans love to watch their favorite team play. Hockey fans don't care who's playing, they'll just enjoy a good game. But sometimes there is such thing as too much hockey.
That's how NHL fans are reacting to reports that the league is exploring negotiations with the players' association over expanding the regular season from 82 game to 84 while shrinking the preseason to potentially just four contests.
As it stands, the NHL preseason begins in late September with regular season play getting underway in the first of second week of October. That usually lasts until late April when the Stanley Cup Playoffs start and a champion crowned by mid-June.
According to ESPN's Kevin Weekes and Greg Wyshynski, no guarantees have been made but sources indicated current collective bargaining negotiations are trending towards that agreement being included in an overall deal. If that happens, the change wouldn't occur until the 2026-27 season.
Many fans already believe the NHL season is far too long, whether preseason exhibition games are whittled down or not. They quickly took to social media to express their displeasure with Wednesday's developments.
Literally nobody asked for the season to get LONGER. https://t.co/Uf5OlCdMPo
Please stop diluting the product! The regular season is already too long, and the playoffs should end by June 15. https://t.co/aCv0Sbwsx6
(I know why —> $) https://t.co/gFOmFtmj4r pic.twitter.com/5fp51MU00v
Not a single consumer of the NHL product wants this https://t.co/yRUw1xVvMr
With the season spanning roughly 10 months already, fans believe the NHL should contract its schedule on all fronts: preseason, regular season and playoffs. Some suggestions include ending crowning a champion by May 31st at the latest.
80 regular season games, 2 play in games for team ranked 6-10. Absolutely no one needs a longer regular season. The Cup needs to be handed out by May 31st. https://t.co/ScBJt9VcRo
Keep 82 games, trim preseason down to 3 games, regular season starts October 1. Use the extra days to reduce back to backs and incorporate more rest time to get a better product on ice every night as well getting stars back in the lineup for more games. https://t.co/Oh5Kov0a54
One fan did the calculations and if the NHL follows through on reported talk of expanding from 34 teams to 36 – whether that means a return of the Atlanta Thrashers, Arizona Coyotes or a new market like Houston gets in the mix – then the total amount of games played by teams altogether would increase by over 15 percent (1,312 to 1,512).
84 games a season. Soon expanding to 34 and even 36 teams.
The total number of regular season games will go up from 1,312 to 1,512 https://t.co/QsJEPL7zU9
Whatever way you split it, the consensus seems clear. Fans want less hockey, not more. It's honestly a little surprising players are okay with adding more opportunities to get injured and miss significant time.
The incentive of a potentially even further raised salary cap might be blinding them, providing a chance to rake in more cash in free agency. But will the price be worth it if fatigue sets in sooner and what is considered the toughest major league in the world begins to inch closer to the "load management" controversy seen in the NBA?
There's a long way to go before things are set in stone but fans should prepare themselves to start making sure they're calendars are clear for perhaps another week longer in late spring/summer.
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