NHL Considering Extending Regular Season

The NHL is considering extending their regular season.

Feb 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during media availabilities before the Los Angeles Kings play against the Utah Hockey Club at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The NHL regular season has had the same basic structure since the 1995-96 season. That was the year the league established an 82-game schedule, split between 41 home and 41 road games. In the 30 years since, there have been very little adjustments, and the league has been happy with the results.

Heading into the latest general managers' meetings, there is a sense that the NHL may finally be considering a change. According to recent rumblings around the league, there is a possibility that they expand the regular season to an 84-game schedule.

The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun has been reporting on this for a bit. In a recent article of his, he discussed some of the topics NHL GM's are set to debate. Among them are starting the regular season a bit earlier, eliminating some of the preseason schedule, and setting the schedule up for the 2026-2027 season, when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will take effect. The first step is a potential switch in the regular season schedule, which LeBrun gives some more context on.

"So in other words, they’d extend the calendar on the regular season to create a schedule that’s not quite as jam-packed," he wrote. "And also takes into account best-on-best hockey breaks every two seasons for the Olympics and World Cups, as well as accommodating 84 games."

An 84-game schedule would harken back to the 1992-1993 NHL campaign. The league had just named Gary Bettman as the first NHL Commissioner. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators were added, making the NHL a 24-team league. That season, they played 84 regular season games before shortening it to 82 the following year.

The NHL would be following in the footsteps of other major sports leagues by extending their regular season schedule. The NFL did the same thing several years ago, going from 16 regular season games to 17. It was a big change for the league and the players, but it's proving to be an excellent choice for viewership and revenue. The NHL is hoping this move can be the same for them.

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