Early hockey is always good

PublishedAugust 23, 2025 6:48 PM EDT•UpdatedAugust 23, 2025 6:48 PM EDT

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We’re in the middle of the NHL offseason, which is always tough for hockey fans, but there’s some potential good news on the horizon.

According to the league’s Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly, this may be the last time we have to wait until October to see regular-season hockey.

The NHL season has gotten underway in October for years, but the new CBA between the NHL and the NHLPA contains provisions for an 84-game regular season as opposed to the 82-game season we’ve all become accustomed to.

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However, this wouldn’t necessarily mean tacking two extra games onto the end of the season. Instead, the league plans to shorten the preseason.

Daly told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas during the NHL/NHL Players’ Association European Player Media Tour in Italy that the 2026-27 season could start in September.

“It should allow us to start the season earlier so we’re not extending the overall schedule,” Daly said. “The 2026–27 season may be shorter. We’ll see how that plays out.”

I dig it.

Hockey fans could get regular season games a bit earlier next season with word that the NHL could start the 2026-27 season in September. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

It sounds like the plan is for the season to wrap up around the time it normally does; mid-April-ish. Then, the Stanley Cup Playoffs would run through late spring and end sometime in June.

Now, if the first regular-season games are going to be in September, we have a shorter time to wait from the time the Stanley Cup is hoisted until the puck drops for the next season.

I love this. Earlier hockey is always good. I don’t think we need the six or seven preseason games ever. I get how they’re useful for conditioning and evaluating players, but that can’t be done in four games? 

Plus, it’s not like you’re setting your roster for all 84 games after those preseason games. The players who were on the bubble will likely end up bouncing between the NHL and AHL anyway.

This feels like a win for fans, and we’ll see how it plays out when the puck drops in 2026.