The NHL joins the trend of American sports taking their games overseas. Their 108th season begins Friday night in Prague, Czechia when the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres play a two-game weekend series.
The North American portion of the schedule begins Monday, Oct. 7, as the 32 teams begin their 82-game schedule, with an eye toward the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals in June.
There is new blood in the league, sort of, as the Phoenix Coyotes have relocated to Salt Lake City, where they will, at least temporarily, skate under the name Utah Hockey Club. They are technically considered an expansion team, albeit one with a roster that will look much like the 2023-24 Coyotes.
Here is what to know about the coming season.
The New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres play Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5, at 02 Arena in Prague, Czechia (formerly Czech Republic). The Saturday, Oct. 4, game will be aired on the NHL Network.
The Tampa Lightning host the Nashville Predators Monday night in the only game set. As the league gets into full swing, there are three more games on Tuesday and five more on Wednesday.
There are no major changes, but there are a few tweaks. A delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass is now reviewable. If a goalie accidentally dislodges a net, his team can’t make any substitutions during the stoppage. A team that has players sitting on the boards will first receive a warning and then be assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct bench minor penalty for subsequent violations.
In the United States, NHL matches are televised between ESPN and ESPN+, TNT and ABC.
NHL.TV offers streaming games.
The NHL’s full schedule is available here.
There is one “expansion team,” though that is a technicality. Technically, the Phoenix Coyotes are shuttered and inactive rather than extinct. The team they had last year is in Salt Lake City now, where the Utah Hockey Club is technically an expansion team.
They expect to have a new name next season but will skate in blue and black jerseys this season. They will remain in Phoenix’s old division, the Central, so there are no changes.
The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers are scheduled to play two games Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2, at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
The 32 teams are divided into 16-team conferences, the East and West. Each conference is subdivided into two eight-team divisions, the Atlantic and Metropolitan in the East (divided north and south) and the Central and Pacific in the West (divided east and west).
The top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, as well as two wild cards from each conference. Teams play in division for the first two rounds of the playoffs, the playoff division winners play each other, then the conference winners play for the Stanley Cup.
The regular season ends on April 17, followed by four rounds and two months of playoffs.
The Florida Panthers won a thrilling seven-game series against Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup last year. Both teams should contend again.
Dallas, which lost in the Western Conference finals to the Oilers last year, is mentioned at the top of the preseason power rankings, with the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes also in the mix.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.

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