Banner Raising Ceremony in Tampa, Inaugural Season for Seattle Kraken, Outdoor Games in Minneapolis and Nashville, and All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas Among 2021-22 Season Highlights

NEW YORK (July 22, 2021) – The NHL’s 2021-22 regular season will commence Tuesday, Oct. 12 with a doubleheader, highlighted by the Tampa Bay Lightning raising their third Stanley Cup championship banner before facing the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amalie Arena.

The second game on the opening night of the 2021-22 season will feature the NHL’s 32nd franchise, the Seattle Kraken, who will play their first regular-season game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. The Kraken will play their first home game on Saturday, Oct. 23 when they play host to the Vancouver Canucks at Climate Pledge Arena.

After closing Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum last season, the New York Islanders will open their new home, UBS Arena, on Saturday, Nov. 20 against the Calgary Flames.

A rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 7 when the Montreal Canadiens play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Bell Centre.

The 2022 NHL Winter Classic® will feature the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild at the home of MLB’s Minnesota Twins, Target Field, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 1, 2022. The outdoor game, originally scheduled for New Year’s Day 2021, continues the tradition the League established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year, with the 2022 edition marking the 14-year anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic® in Buffalo.

The 2022 Honda NHL® All-Star Weekend will take place in Las Vegas, Nev. at the home of the Vegas Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 4-5. The 2022 Honda NHL® All-Star Weekend will include the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills™ on Friday, Feb. 4, and the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 5, and will feature various hockey-themed events, entertainment and activities.

On Feb. 26, the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ will visit the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, Nissan Stadium, in Nashville, Tenn., where the Nashville Predators will play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It will be the second regular-season outdoor game for the Predators and first such game for the Lightning, who will become the 27th NHL team to participate in a regular-season outdoor game.

The 1,312-game regular-season schedule – 82 games per team – will conclude Friday, April 29, when 30 of the League’s 32 teams take to the ice.

Olympic Break: No final agreement or decision has been made to this point regarding the possible participation of NHL Players in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Talks remain ongoing. Subject to reaching agreement with the NHL Players’ Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation on all outstanding issues, including appropriate COVID-19 insurance for NHL Players, the League has agreed, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, to pause from Feb. 7-22, 2022 to accommodate NHL Player participation in the Olympic Games. The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association will retain full authority to decide not to participate should COVID-19 conditions worsen or otherwise pose a threat to the health and safety of NHL Players, or for any other reason that may warrant such decision. In the event NHL Players participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics, the NHL regular season will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 23. If, for whatever reason, there is no NHL Player participation in the Olympics, a revised Regular Season schedule will be released which, to the greatest extent possible, will adopt the dates and games reflected in the schedule contemplating Olympic participation.

ESPN, Turner Sports, Sportsnet and TVA Sports are the NHL’s national broadcast partners for the 2021-22 season and will provide comprehensive coverage throughout the season.

NHL Network’s NHL Tonight will extensively analyze and preview the 2021-22 NHL schedule tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Host Tony Luftman with analysts Brian Lawton and Dave Reid will break down key matchups, storylines and Playoff favorites throughout the program.

A complete listing of each team’s 2021-22 regular-season schedule is attached. Start times and broadcast details for all games will be announced when available.

Reminder: Scheduling Matrix

Each Division Has Eight Teams

Games Within Division

5 teams x 2 home / 2 away (Subtotal 10 home / 10 away)

1 team x 2 home / 1 away (Subtotal 2 home / 1 away)

1 team x 1 home / 2 away (Subtotal 1 home / 2 away)

Games Within Conference (Non-Division)

4 teams x 2 home / 1 away (Subtotal 8 home / 4 away)

4 teams x 1 home / 2 away (Subtotal 4 home / 8 away)

Non-Conference Games

16 teams x 1 home / 1 away (Subtotal 16 home / 16 away)

Grand Total – 82 Games

41 home / 41 away

COURTESY NHLmedia.com