NHL Reportedly Considering a Controversial Change to the Schedule for the 2026-27 Season
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Gary Bettman and the big-wigs at the NHL are considering some major changes to the NHL season and one of them has to do with the All-Star Game.
The NHL has never shied away from some sort of experimentation and the 4 Nations Face-Off was a great example of this as the league ditched a regular all-star game for something much greater.
Next year, the league will be going to the Olympics and the usual All-Star game is set to make a return.
However, many fans don't believe it is a smart idea given the fact that the best players have to go overseas for the Olympics anyway.
NHL contemplating change to the All-Star Game
Well, in a new report from Pierre LeBrun, it was revealed that Gary Bettman and the NHL is thinking about doing away with next year's All-Star showcase.
Furthermore, the league is also thinking about expanding the schedule to 84 games for the 2026-26 season. This would mean starting the season in September and removing games from the preseason.
"So in other words, they'd extend the calendar on the regular season to create a schedule that's not quite as jam-packed and also takes into account best-on-best hockey breaks every two seasons for the Olympics and World Cups, as well as accommodating 84 games."
This is a controversial idea, however, to balance this out, teams are suggesting more Divisional games to build rivalries.
Furthermore, they would take out the need to host every single NHL team in a given seasoon.
"...so that teams don't necessarily have to play at least one game in each NHL arena every season. There are some teams pushing for more divisional and rivalry games. Having said that, some teams won't want to go two years without seeing Connor McDavid in their building or a strong-drawing team like the New York Rangers or Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens..."
These are ideas that may not go over well but you have to admire the National Hockey League for trying something a little bit different here.
Hopefully, we get more updates on these ideas very soon.
| POLL | ||
MARS 14 | 85 ANSWERS NHL Reportedly Considering a Controversial Change to the Schedule for the 2026-27 Season Do you believe this would be a good change to the NHL season? | ||
| YES | 49 | 57.6 % |
| NO | 36 | 42.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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