The NHL regular season can see an increase of 82 to 84 games for the 2026-27 season, several media reported on Wednesday, while the League and the Association of Players negotiate the change of the calendar during their discussions on collective agreements.
An unbalanced number of division matches against Rivals, which attract more fans in the matches or by watching their home televisions, led certain franchises to ask for changes in the calendar.
The addition of a pair of matches would not change the format that has all the teams to visit all the other clubs at least once a season, but that would allow all the division rivals to compete four times a season. Other changes in the calendar would also have been discussed.
According to ESPN, players are concerned about the broadcasting of two additional games in the regular season, but the NHL should reduce the number of pre-season games if it spends an 84 game slate.
It would not be the first time that the League would have implemented a calendar of 84 games. From 1992 to 1994, NHL and NHLPA agreed that each team would play a pair of matches on a neutral site in the extended list.
Among the other subjects during the ABC talks consist of explaining how the teams use the exemption from the long -term injury wage ceiling. The teams implemented the exemption at the end of the regular season, then brought the players in time for the start of the playoffs. A solution on the table requires that the eliminatory teams conform to the ceiling of their active players, even if the overall list has exceeded it.
An agreement on a new CBA, with the current version that expires on September 15, 2026, seems to be closer. The NHL commissioner Gary Bettman would have examined the talks on Wednesday during the meeting of the Governors’ Council, although no vote took place.
“We started a little later than what we had planned for various reasons on both sides, so I have no announcement to make today that we have an agreement,” said Bettman before match 1 of the Stanley Cup final between Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers. “We have more than a year to go, and I think we are in a very good place in terms of our relationship.”
– field level media
