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07/16 12:09 CDT NHL unveils its 2026-27 schedule, the first with 84 games apiece since '93-94 NHL unveils its 2026-27 schedule, the first with 84 games apiece since '93-94 NEW YORK (AP) --- The most expansive season in NHL history will begin in September, not October, and limit most teams to four preseason games. The league's first 84-game season since 1993-94 opens Sept. 29 as 32 teams will combine to play a total of 1,344 games. The season runs through Saturday, April 10, before the playoffs begin the following week. The increase from an 82-game slate, which had been the standard since the mid-'90s, was agreed upon by team owners and players in the last round of talks on a collective bargaining agreement. The intent is to provide more space between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and the draft in late June before free agency commences July 1. When the Panthers and Oilers went the distance in '24, there were just three days between Game 7 on June 24 in South Florida and the first round of the draft on June 28 in Las Vegas. After defeating Vegas to win the Stanley Cup, the Carolina Hurricanes will raise their second championship banner on Sept. 29 against Florida. That opening night, featuring five games, matches the earliest start date in NHL history and is the first time the regular season begins in North America before October. The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played games in London on Sept. 29 and 30, 2007. The most recent --- and only other --- September hockey outside of exhibitions came during the pandemic playoff bubble in 2020, culminating when Tampa Bay hoisted the Cup in an empty arena in Edmonton on Sept. 28.

Games to watch Oct. 21: New Florida Panther Brady Tkachuk returns to Ottawa. The former Senators captain plays his first game against his old team since getting traded to Florida to play with his brother, Matthew. It did not end well in Canada's capital, from Brady bristling at his name being in rumors to asking out and then the team offering to take Tkachuk No. 7 jerseys fans wished to exchange. Oct 25: Heritage Classic. The Montreal Canadiens visit the Winnipeg Jets in the return of outdoor hockey to Canada for the first time since 2023. Dec. 21: Stanley Cup Final rematch: The Hurricanes return to the scene of their championship triumph to face the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. The two teams meet again in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 17. Dec. 31: Winter Classic: Utah takes center stage outside, hosting the Colorado Avalanche in the Winter Classic in Salt Lake City. Feb. 20: Jerry World hockey: The Dallas Stars host Vegas in at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington, Texas. April 4: Washington hosts Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin is back for a 22nd NHL season with the Capitals. If this is it for him at age 41 --- and it very well may not be if he wants to shoot for 1,000 career goals --- this would be the last regular-season game against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

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