The NHL will play its final 82-game schedule in 2025-26 before the new collective-bargaining agreement increases the number of games to 84 the following season.
Next season will start on Tuesday, Oct. 7, with an ESPN tripleheader, including the Florida Panthers raising a Stanley Cup banner for the second year in a row. The season will end on April 16.
There is a break in February so the NHL can send its players to the Olympics for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games. There will be two outdoor games – in Florida for the first time.
Here are the highlights and key dates for the 2025-26 NHL season:
The season opens on Oct. 7 with three games, all of which will be broadcast by ESPN.
Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers, 5
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers, 8
Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky’s goal record last season, has a chance to break another this season. He needs 43 goals to break the Hall of Famer’s record of 1,016 combined regular season and playoff goals. Ovechkin, who had a combined 49 goals last season, opens the season on Oct. 8 at home against the Bruins. He is entering the final year of his contract.
All 32 teams will play on the same day twice this season: Oct. 11 and Oct. 28.
The longtime Bruins star was traded to the Panthers in March and won a Stanley Cup there. He re-signed with Florida for six years and will return to Boston on Oct. 21.
The Bruins will visit the Maple Leafs on Nov. 8. Two former Bruins, Zdeno Chara and Joe Thornton, are among the Hockey Hall of Fame inductees.
The Penguins and Predators will play at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Nov. 14 and 16.
The Panthers, who downed Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final the last two years, will host the Oilers on Nov. 22. They teams will also play in Edmonton on March 19.
The Winter Classic will be held on Jan. 2 at the Miami Marlins‘ LoanDepot Park. The Panthers will host the Rangers.
Jonathan Toews is back in the NHL after taking two seasons off for health reasons. The three-time Stanley Cup champion and former longtime Blackhawks captain plays in Chicago on Jan. 19.
Mitch Marner went to the Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade. He visits his former team, the Maple Leafs, on Jan 23.
The Lightning will host the Bruins outdoors on Feb. 1 at the Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium.
The NHL will take a break from Feb. 6 to 24 for the Olympics.
The season is scheduled to end on April 16 with six games.
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