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<\/p>\n\u201cThey always want to come to games, and the nine o\u2019clock games they definitely can\u2019t come to,\u201d Strome said. \u201cThat\u2019s probably the biggest adjustment, is that my tickets will be free those nights because my family can\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Alberta\u2019s decision to stop moving clocks back an hour in November and ahead in March and stay on daylight saving time \u2014 a move also adopted by B.C. and Manitoba \u2014 threw a few wrinkles into an NHL schedule driven by broadcast rightsholders.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s injected variety into when the puck drops for the NHL\u2019s teams in Western Canada, and when their fans turn on their screens to watch them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s out of our control,\u201d Flames president and chief executive officer Robert Hayes said. \u201cI\u2019ve always said in my business career, \u2018let\u2019s focus on the things we can control,\u2019 and we can\u2019t control that. <\/p>\n
\u201cA decision was made by the province \u2026 and decisions were made by others that this is the time we\u2019re going to start hockey games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only once before an Eastern road trip starting Dec. 10 do the Flames have back-to-back games starting at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at the calendar, looking at the schedule, it looks like it\u2019s a big variety this year,\u201d Backlund said.<\/p>\n
Calgary does get eight afternoon games starting at 2:30 p.m. or earlier, compared to five in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got more afternoon games. That\u2019s going to be exciting for families,\u201d Hayes said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the 9 o\u2019clock games, hopefully that just means, and I\u2019ll couch my words here, a greater party atmosphere, if you will, for a Saturday night 9 o\u2019clock game that happens to be on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calgary\u2019s 9 p.m. starts at the Saddledome are Dec. 26 against the Vancouver Canucks and Jan. 16 against the Los Angeles Kings. <\/p>\n
Edmonton has seven games starting at 9 p.m., including Nov. 7 against the Canucks and March 6 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ll notice as much as my family at home watching,\u201d said Oilers defenceman Jake Walman, who is from Toronto. \u201cThey\u2019ll probably be struggling to watch that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
His teammate Trent Frederic will adjust his sleep routine for late games at Rogers Place.<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds weird, but I\u2019ll try to go to bed a little bit later the night before, probably take a later nap, eat my lunch a little bit later than normal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe naps are big, or at least they are for myself. A lot of times after games, the later games, you\u2019re going to bed late, you\u2019re still wired, so it\u2019s just important to kind of stick with getting the good naps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manitoba declared Sept. 17, the same day players hit the ice for NHL training camps, that the province will stay on daylight time permanently.<\/p>\n
The next day, the NHL issued changes to a dozen Winnipeg Jets home games, pushing them back an hour, but none later than 7:30 p.m. local time. Manitoba will be on the same time as Toronto on Nov. 1. <\/p>\n
Winnipeg\u2019s road schedule contains the odd nightcap for Jets fans, though, including a 10 p.m. game Feb. 13 against the Canucks and a 9:30 p.m. start Dec. 2 against the Utah Mammoth.<\/p>\n
The Canucks on the West Coast also have some quirky start times on the road, including 4:45 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.<\/p>\n
A seven-game road trip in late January contains five different start times ranging from noon to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred per cent it\u2019s going to be different,\u201d Canucks winger Brendan Gallagher said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019ve never really been through. Even having an 8 p.m. game to start the season, a little bit different, but we\u2019ll get used to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have plans, and you probably tinker with (it) a little bit, but it\u2019s not going to change too much. Once the puck drops, it\u2019s still hockey and you\u2019ve got a job to do. You try to stick to what your routine is as best you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u2014 With files from Gemma Karstens-Smith in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThey always want to come to games, and the nine o\u2019clock games they definitely can\u2019t come to,\u201d Strome…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-924044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}