The NHL’s 84-game schedule adds two divisional games—not two games against every rival—and changes how season totals should be compared.
The NHL moved from 82 to 84 games in 2026-27. See the new opponent matrix, shorter preseason and implications for season statistics.
The NHL expanded its regular season from 82 to 84 games per team beginning in 2026-27. The two additions are divisional games: every club now plays each of its seven division rivals four times, with two games at home and two away.
This is not an extra home-and-away series against every opponent. It is a targeted change that removes the uneven three-game divisional matchups from the previous schedule.
Pick your team to see the new opponent split and the seven rivals you now play four times each.
Your Team's 2026-27 Schedule: What The 84th Game Changes
The new collective agreement adds two regular-season games and turns every division matchup into a four-game series. Pick a team to see the old and new split.
| Opponents | 2025-26 (82 games) | 2026-27 (84 games) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Division rivals (7 teams) | 26: five rivals x4, two x3 | 28: every rival x4 | +2, no more 3-game series |
| Same conference, other division (8 teams) | 24: x3 each | 24: x3 each | No change |
| Other conference (16 teams) | 32: x2 each | 32: x2 each | No change |
| Home / away | 41 / 41 | 42 / 42 | +1 each |
| Preseason | Varied by team (6 for some clubs) | Maximum 4 per team | Fewer exhibition games |
Every Team By Division
| Team | Division | Division games | Conference games | Inter-conference games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Buffalo Sabres | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Detroit Red Wings | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Florida Panthers | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Montreal Canadiens | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Ottawa Senators | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Atlantic | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| New Jersey Devils | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| New York Islanders | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| New York Rangers | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Washington Capitals | Metropolitan | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Colorado Avalanche | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Dallas Stars | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Minnesota Wild | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Nashville Predators | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| St. Louis Blues | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Utah Mammoth | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Winnipeg Jets | Central | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Anaheim Ducks | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Calgary Flames | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Edmonton Oilers | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Los Angeles Kings | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| San Jose Sharks | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Seattle Kraken | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Vancouver Canucks | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Pacific | 28 | 24 | 32 |
Sources
Game count, four-game division series and the preseason cap: NHL and NHLPA agree on 4-year extension to CBA (NHL.com, June 27, 2025), effective from the 2026-27 season. Schedule structure: 10 things to know about 2026-27 NHL regular season (NHL.com, July 16, 2026). Old 82-game matrix: NHL announces regular-season schedule for 2025-26 (NHL.com). Division membership as of September 2026, with Utah Mammoth in the Central.
Under the 82-game format each team met five division rivals four times and two rivals three times; the new format makes all seven four-game series. The 2026-27 regular season runs Sept. 29, 2026 to April 10, 2027.
The 82-game and 84-game formats compared
Under the former matrix, a team played five division rivals four times and the other two division rivals three times. That produced 26 divisional games. The new format adds one game against each of those two previously underrepresented opponents, producing 28.
| Opponent group | 2025-26 format | 2026-27 format | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Division | 26 games | 28 games | +2 |
| Same conference, other division | 24 | 24 | None |
| Other conference | 32 | 32 | None |
| Total | 82 | 84 | +2 |
| Home/road split | 41/41 | 42/42 | +1 each |
The NHL’s official 2025-26 scheduling matrix shows the old divisional rotation: five opponents were played four times, while one was faced twice at home and once away and another once at home and twice away.
For 2026-27, the new official matrix is:
- 28 divisional games: four against each of seven opponents
- 24 non-divisional conference games: three against each of eight opponents
- 32 interconference games: one home and one away against all 16 teams
- 84 total: 42 at home and 42 away
The non-divisional conference rotation remains uneven at the individual-opponent level. A club gets two home games and one road game against four teams, then one home and two road games against the other four. The cross-conference format also stays intact, so every team still visits every opposing-conference city once.
Why the league added only 32 games
Two more games for each of 32 teams may appear to create 64 additional games, but every game belongs to two teams:
32 teams × 2 additional team-games ÷ 2 teams per game = 32 new NHL games
Accordingly, the league-wide schedule rises from 1,312 games in 2025-26 to 1,344 in 2026-27, as confirmed in the NHL’s 2026-27 schedule announcement.
The preseason became shorter
The regular-season increase was negotiated as part of a broader working-conditions package. The NHL-NHLPA memorandum identifies the 84-game season alongside a shorter training camp, fewer exhibition games and the elimination of fitness testing. The new collective bargaining agreement runs from September 16, 2026 through September 15, 2030, according to the NHL-NHLPA memorandum.
The preseason is limited to a maximum of four games per team. For comparison, preseason schedules varied previously; Buffalo had six exhibitions scheduled for the 2025 preseason, before the new agreement took effect, as the club’s CBA summary explains.
That distinction matters when assessing workload. Players face two more games that count in the standings, but the change is not simply two extra dates added on top of an unchanged preseason.
What 84 games mean for statistics
Raw season totals now have a slightly larger opportunity base. An 84-game season is 2.44% longer than an 82-game season:
84 ÷ 82 = 1.0244
At an unchanged scoring rate, an 82-game total of 100 points projects to about 102.4 points over 84 games. A 40-goal pace becomes roughly 41. For comparisons across seasons, per-game rates—or rate statistics based on ice time—will be more informative than raw totals alone.
The standings denominator changes too. The maximum available points rise from 164 to 168. A 98-point team would have a .598 points percentage over 82 games but a .583 percentage over 84, so the same raw point total no longer represents the same season-long performance.
The schedule also becomes more balanced where playoff races are most direct: every divisional pairing now has the same four-game weight. It does not make the entire schedule perfectly symmetrical, because the three-game series against non-divisional conference opponents still have unequal home/road splits.
Is this the NHL’s first 84-game season?
No. The league also used 84-game schedules in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Those seasons included at least two neutral-site games per club. The 2026-27 version is different: each team’s additions are one home game and one road game against divisional opponents. The NHL describes it as the first 84-game campaign in 33 years.