NHL Reportedly Eyeing Earlier Season Start as Schedule Changes Loom
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
According to NHL Insider John Shannon, Gary Bettman wants to get things going a bit earlier as the league adjusts to a new 84-game schedule starting in 2026-27.
As Bob Dylan stated, the times they are-a changing, and that's exactly what the NHL has in store come the 2026-27 season. Among the changes are a playoff salary cap, and every team must have an emergency backup goaltender in place.
But the biggest arguably is the changing of the length of the season, and while there are still some kinks to work out, moving from an 82 to an 84-game slate is going to mean a lot more tension come the end of the season.
Insider Report Hints at NHL's Push for an Earlier Season Start
Though there are questions about when the season will start with an extended schedule, and for NHL Insider John Shannon, he has a pretty solid idea and it makes things look a lot nicer:
I think the NHL season will start a week sooner at some point; I do think when they get to 84...we're gonna be talking about October 1st.
That would make a lot of sense instead of waiting the first week of October to get things started; we begin on the 1st and go forward; clean, simple, efficient.
What an 84-Game Schedule Could Mean for the Maple Leafs
For the Maple Leafs, it means a bit of a tougher route for them to go as they'll have two more games to worry about in terms of a divisional battle.
We've seen teams sneak in at the last second, and with an extra dose of games to be played, those teams who were even more on the outs could slide in; so Toronto has to be on their toes.
For an aging roster this also spells some bad news. Sure, for the most part these guys can stay healthy but adding more chances for injury means that Craig Berube might need to sacrifice a win or two; at a crucial time nonetheless, to protect his best players.
Toronto is going to need to potentially make sure they are better prepared next summer and bring in some fresher legs to keep up with the extra games.
I guess it's a good thing then that the 2026 free agent class is expected to be one of, if not the best; with the speediest (and greatest) player in the league currently is potentially up for sale.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 29 | 682 ANSWERS NHL Reportedly Eyeing Earlier Season Start as Schedule Changes Loom Do you think 84 games is too many or not enough for the NHL? | ||
| Too many!! | 466 | 68.3 % |
| Not enough, give me more!! | 216 | 31.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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