This may sound like witchcraft, or maybe just wishful thinking, but the NHL believes it can go from an 82-game schedule to an 84-game schedule without taking up more calendar days.<\/p>\n
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Sportsnet\u2019s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas at the NHL\/NHLPA press gathering in Milan that the league hopes to start the NHL season in September<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should allow us to start the season earlier so we\u2019re not extending the overall schedule,\u201d Daly told Friedman and Bukauskas. \u201cThe 2026\u201327 season may be shorter. We\u2019ll see how that plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n The league will also be reducing the length of the preseason, including reducing the number of preseason games.<\/p>\n Shortening the preseason should be well-received by fans. The NHL will have to be careful with how they schedule games early in the fall because some markets still have difficulty competing against college football and the NFL in October and November. Those teams prefer not to play home games on the weekends in those months.<\/p>\n Red Wings In Case You Missed It<\/p>\n Axel Holmstrom<\/a> has no regrets: he cherished his time with the Grand Rapids Griffins.<\/p>\n Detroit draft pick Grayden Robertson-Palmer<\/a> is known as a natural leader.<\/p>\n Red Wings draft pick Red Savage<\/a> signed a two-year deal with the Rochester Amerks<\/p>\n Red Wings Extra<\/p>\n In case you are wondering how soon Detroit\u2019s Russian prospects Dimitri Buchelnikov and Nikita Tyurin start to play meaningful games, the KHL regular-season starts Sept. 5. Buchelnikov plays for CSKA this season, and it\u2019s unclear whether Tyurin will get much time with Spartak big club. He only played one game in the KHL last season, playing 50 games for the Spartak junior team. He just turned 18 in July.<\/p>\n Hockey Now Network<\/p>\n Florida: Matthew Tkachuk recently had surgery and will miss the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. He missed the last 25 games of the 2024-25 regular-season and then played in the postseason. Florida Panthers.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Montreal: MHN polled fans to see which Montreal prospects they believe are the best. The results are in. Montreal Canadiens.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n