Fans pose for photos with the NHL logo.
Ready for more hockey?
Well, it’s slightly more. The NHL CBA has been extended, with updates, and perhaps most notable is that the agreement includes an increase in regular season games. The NHL regular season will now be 84 games.
Technically, it’s a return to the past. The NHL previously had an 84-game regular season for two years, in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 campaigns. After the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, the CBA was updated to shorten the regular season to 82 games. This actually comes after the league had expanded, as the Ducks (then the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) and Florida Panthers had their inaugural runs in 1993-94.
The league is now up to 32 teams, up from 26 clubs in 1995-96 when the 82-game season was implemented. And it’s quite possible that the league expands even more, to 34 or 36 teams, in the coming years.
Unfortunately for my Sports Hub Underground co-host Ty Anderson, the new CBA didn’t change the format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So you can expect year 894 of Oilers vs Kings, and if the Bruins make it back to the playoffs, they will almost certainly face the Maple Leafs. If it ain’t fixed, don’t break it.
But one thing is certain: these extra two regular-season games will change the world.
Download the app to LISTEN LIVE wherever you are and connect with us like never before!
Hockey News