NHL Schedule 2026-27 Released for Opening Day, All-Star Weekend and Key Dates

The confetti only fell for the Carolina Hurricanes a month ago, yet it's already time to begin looking ahead to the 2026-27 NHL season.

The league released the full regular-season schedule Thursday.

Carolina will help open the campaign on Sept. 29. The Hurricanes will raise their Stanley Cup championship banner and face off with the 2025 champs, the Florida Panthers.

Here are some important dates to keep in mind:

• Sept. 29: Opening Night
• Oct. 25: NHL Heritage Classic (Montreal Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets)
• Nov. 12 and 14: NHL Global Series Finland (Carolina Hurricanes vs. Seattle Kraken)
• Dec. 18 and 20: NHL Global Series Germany (Ottawa Senators vs. Chicago Blackhawks)
• Dec. 31: NHL Winter Classic (Colorado Avalanche vs. Utah Mammoth)
• Feb. 5: NHL All-Star Skills Competition
• Feb. 6: NHL All-Star Game
• Feb. 20: NHL Stadium Series (Vegas Golden Knights vs. Dallas Stars)

Fans will have to wait until Dec. 21 to see the first rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final. Carolina will head to Sin City to play the Vegas Golden Knights. The Canes will host the return encounter on Jan. 17.

Those in the Canadian capital will be looking squarely at Oct. 21. That's when Brady Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers head to Canadian Tire Centre to play the Ottawa Senators. Fans will surely be eager to give Tkachuk a warm welcome.

The crowd at Rogers Arena might be a little more receptive toward Quinn Hughes on Oct. 25 as the Minnesota Wild play the Vancouver Canucks. Even when it happened, many saw the Hughes trade as a sad reflection on the state of the Canucks. There may not be a lot of bad blood when he heads back for the first time.

The regular season will draw to a close on April 10, which is one of two days when every NHL team takes the ice.