Place where the NHL Schedule is released.

While the Stanley Cup playoffs just ended, the 2026-2027 NHL schedule release is right around the corner. The 2026-2027 NHL schedule is expected between late June and mid-July. Here are the most recent release dates:

2025-26 schedule release: July 16, 2025
2024-25 schedule release: July 2, 2024
2023-24 schedule release: June 27, 2023

When Does the 2026-2027 NHL Schedule Come Out?

The NHL is unique in that it releases its schedule almost immediately after the prior season concludes. Last year, the NHL released its schedule on July 16th, 2025. That was the latest schedule release in recent NHL memory, with most other recent NHL schedules dropping in late June or early July. Here is the most recent list of NHL schedule release dates:

Season	Schedule Release Date
2026-27	Expected July 2026
2025-26	July 16, 2025
2024-25	July 2, 2024
2023-24	June 27, 2023
2022-23	July 6, 2022
2021-22	July 22, 2021

Why Does the NHL Wait to Release the Schedule?

The NHL typically waits until after the Stanley Cup Final before releasing the next season’s schedule. The NHL likes to finalize arena availability, national television schedules, international events, and special games before announcing the full schedule. Having a sense of key storylines influenced by playoff results, draft news, early trade rumors, etc. also gives the league more to go off of when selecting marquee matchups.

What Happens After the NHL Schedule is Released?

Once the NHL schedule is announced:

– Teams release promotional schedules

– Season ticket holders can begin planning games to attend

– Single-game tickets go on sale

– Ticket resale activity begins increasing

– Premium games become easier to identify

When Do NHL Season Tickets Go on Sale?

The earliest way to secure NHL tickets is to become a season ticket holder. The timing for this varies by team. Most NHL teams offer the opportunity for fans to make a deposit on next year’s season tickets during the second half of the current season. For instance, teams that follow this method began taking deposits for 2026-2027 season tickets in the final weeks of the 2025-26 season. However, almost all teams start selling season tickets for the next season following the conclusion of their present season.

Those interested in buying season tickets are wise to act quickly. A high draft pick, a busy free agency or a big trade can often drive up the price of season tickets during the offseason. For example, the Blackhawks saw a surge in season ticket requests when they landed the No. 1 overall draft pick and selected top prospect Connor Bedard, making the market for season tickets much more competitive.

When Do Single-Game NHL Tickets Go on Sale?

When NHL teams release single-game tickets varies, but it generally happens around the time training camp starts in mid-September. This is the best time to cash in on tickets before prices go up once they hit the resale market.

Single-game tickets can be hard to come by for the biggest games and most anticipated matchups. And comparing resale marketplaces is tedious and can often lead to overpayment for seats. With all this in mind, we suggest trying to score tickets as soon as possible.

When Do NHL Playoff Tickets Go on Sale?

With so much parity in the NHL, oftentimes, playoff matchups aren’t decided until the final day of the season. But once the regular season concludes and matchups are set, playoff tickets go on sale. Season ticket holders usually get first dibs on playoff tickets, and what’s left becomes available to the general public after. Teams tend to sell playoff tickets for each round of the playoffs, but they won’t charge fans for games that aren’t played due to elimination or a series ending in less than seven games.

When do Stanley Cup tickets go on sale? Typically, not until after the conference champions have been decided.

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