Why Is the NHL Playing 84 Games in 2026–27? New Schedule Explained
Updated September 15, 2026
Updated September 15, 2026
The NHL regular season is getting a little longer in 2026–27.
For the first time in more than 30 years, every NHL team will play 84 regular-season games instead of 82. The change adds two games to each team's schedule, taking the league-wide total to 1,344 games.
But the NHL has not simply added two random games to the calendar. The extra games are all about division rivalries.
The biggest reason is to create a cleaner divisional schedule.
Under the previous 82-game format, teams did not play every opponent in their division the same number of times. Some divisional rivals met four times during a season, while others met only three.
Starting in 2026–27, that changes. Every team will now play each of its seven division opponents four times — twice at home and twice on the road. That gives every club 28 divisional games and removes the rotating three-game matchups from the schedule.
The change was agreed to as part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players' Association, which takes effect for the 2026–27 season.
Teams will play 42 games at home and 42 on the road. That means the two additional regular-season games effectively go straight into the divisional portion of the schedule.
Players aren't simply being asked to add two more games on top of the existing calendar. The trade-off is a shorter preseason.
Beginning in 2026–27, teams are limited to four preseason games. The 2026 preseason runs for only eight days, from September 19 through September 26.
In other words, the NHL is shifting games that previously would have been exhibitions into games that actually count. There are also restrictions on veteran participation during the preseason. Players with at least 100 NHL games can appear in a maximum of two preseason games under the new agreement.
For fans, that is arguably the more important part of the change: fewer exhibition games and more meaningful hockey.
Yes. The 2026–27 season will actually be the third 84-game season in NHL history.
Teams also played 84 games in 1992–93 and 1993–94, although the format was different. Those seasons included neutral-site games as the NHL experimented with bringing regular-season hockey to potential expansion markets around North America.
The league returned to an 82-game schedule and had used 82 games as its standard for a full season since 1995–96. So while 84 games isn't completely new, the reason for using it in 2026–27 is.
Two games may not sound significant, but the way they are being added matters.
Division opponents now see each other four times every season. That means more games between rivals and, potentially, a little more importance placed on head-to-head divisional matchups.
It also removes one of the quirks of the old schedule. A team will no longer face one division rival four times while meeting another only three times because of a rotating scheduling formula.
For bettors, the change is worth keeping in mind as well. One-third of every team's regular-season schedule is now played inside its own division, putting slightly more emphasis on how teams match up against the opponents they are directly competing with for playoff positioning.
The new 84-game era begins on September 29, 2026.
The regular season will run through April 10, with all 32 teams playing on the final day of the schedule.
The important number, though, isn't really 84. It's four.
Every NHL team will now meet every divisional rival four times — twice at home and twice away. The league gets more meaningful rivalry games, fans get fewer exhibitions, and the old uneven divisional rotation disappears.
That's ultimately what the NHL's move from 82 to 84 games is designed to accomplish.
