NHL 2025-26 TV, Schedule: Sunrise, Sweden, Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 02:29PM By Barry Janoff
UPDATED August 27, 2025: A total of 172 regular-season NHL games will be broadcast nationally across ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and TNT Sports, starting with an ESPN Opening Night Tripleheader on Oct. 7 and a doubleheader on TNT the next night.
The national schedule for ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and Hulu will feature 100 games, including all 32 teams in action Oct. 28 as part of the "NHL Frozen Frenzy," and the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning outdoors in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 1.
In addition to all games streaming live on the ESPN App via ESPN DTC or Pay TV Subscription and more than 1,050 out-of-market games available on NHL Power Play on the ESPN App, the Stanley Cup Final returns exclusively to the Walt Disney Company this season.
The "NHL on TNT" regular-season schedule will have coverage on (14) Tuesday and (21) Wednesday nights throughout the season as well as the annual Thanksgiving Showdown on Black Friday, Nov. 28, with the New York Rangers visiting the Boston Bruins at 1 p.m. ET, and Sunday afternoon games starting in March.
TNT will again be the exclusive home of the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, when the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers host the Rangers outdoors in Miami.
TNT will present a tripleheader Dec. 23, starting at 4 p.m. ET with the Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs, then the Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings and concluding with the Philadelphia Flyers at the Blackhawks.
Due to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the NHL’s last games will be Feb. 5 before resuming Feb. 25.
Following the break, NHL action returns with an ESPN doubleheader Feb. 26 featuring the Flyers and Rangers, followed by the Oilers and Kings in a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference First Round.
FULL ESPN TV SCHEDULE
FULL TNT TV SCHEDULE
July 16, 2025: Coming off a season that saw records in attendance and sponsorship revenue, a massive response to the first 4 Nations Face-Off and the Florida Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the NHL has unveiled its schedule for the 2025-26 season.
The 1,312-game regular-season begins Oct. 7, includes two games in Sweden in November, a 19-day break in February for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina and concludes April 16, with the Stanley Cup playoffs to begin the following weekend and run into June.
The first day of the season will include the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers raise their Stanley Cup banner before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks in Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.
The NHL's last three-peat was the New York Islanders' four-peat from 1980-83.
Also that night, the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden and the Colorado Avalanche play the Los Angeles Kings in Crypto.com Arena as part of a triple-header to open ESPN’s season coverage.s
The following night (Oct. 8) will be TNT's season debut with a doubleheader featuring the Boston Bruins visiting Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
Beginning in 2026-27, there will be a NHL record 1,344 games — 84 per team up from 82 — along with a shortened pre-season as part of a recently ratified four-year Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players’ Assn.’s full membership and the NHL’s Board of Governors.
The 2025 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal, two regular-season games featuring the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins int Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, is scheduled for Nov. 14 and Nov. 16.
The NHL plans to play two outdoor games in Florida next season.
The Panthers will host the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic Jan. 2 in Miami’s loanDepot Park vs. the Rangers (TNT). It will be the first time NHL outdoor hockey will be played in Florida.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will then host the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Feb. 1 in Raymond James Stadium, playing the Boston Bruins (ESPN).
“Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State?” commissioner Gary Bettman said via the league. “Never let it be said that our league isn’t willing to accept a challenge.”
This past February, the league and NHLPA said NHL players would participate in the Olympics in 2026 and 2030.
NHL players have participated in the Olympics five times: in Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.
“This really came down to doing something because the players really wanted it,” said Bettman.
Due to the Olympic Winter Games Milano-Cortina 2026, the NHL’s last games will be Feb. 5 before resuming Feb. 25.
En route to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Final, the NHL said it set an attendance mark during the 2024-25 season, surpassing the 23-million mark for the first time in league history.
The league said games on its final days before the post-season pushed total attendance for the full, 1,312-game regular season to 23,014,458, representing 96.9% of capacity.
That marks the third consecutive regular season the NHL has set a total attendance record, following 2022-23 (22,436,532) and 2023-24 (22,873,142).
The NHL said the “epic pursuit of the NHL career goals record by Alex Ovechkin" to pass Wayne Gretzky in The GR8 Chase was among the key factors.
The record attendance for the regular season does not include the 4 Nations Face-Off.
NHL teams generated a record $1.53 billion in sponsorship revenue, up 9% from $1.4 billion in 2023-24, according to the 2024-25 NHL Marketing Partnerships report released this past June from global sports and entertainment intelligence platform SponsorUnited. 
According to SponsorUnited, “The NHL and its teams continue to innovate in the sponsorship space, whether by adding new industries or segmenting their assets to increase inventory and allow more brands to take advantage of exposure opportunities.
“As a result, the average sponsorship deal per team has continued to rise, reflecting growing enthusiasm for the league.
“The 2025 Four Nations Face-Off, which replaced the traditional All-Star Game, was one of the biggest buzz generators the league has seen in years.”
The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC), TNT Sports, Sportsnet, Prime Video and TVA Sports are the NHL's national broadcast partners for the 2025-26 season.