When Does the NHL Season Start?
The NHL season is set to begin on October 2nd. Find out how your favorite team is shaping up and who to watch for this year.
Introduction
The NHL season is a long and eventful one, running from October through early April. It’s a grind of a season, with each team playing 82 games in order to make the playoffs.
The NHL schedule is released in mid-July each year, so fans can start planning their game-watching parties well in advance. The first few days of the season are typically packed with action, as all 30 teams are in action on opening night.
So when does the NHL season start? The answer may surprise you – it actually depends on the year! In odd-numbered years, the season begins in late September. In even-numbered years, the campaign starts in early October.
The reason for this is that the NHL participates in the Olympics every four years. In order to accommodate the Winter Olympics, the NHL shuts down its regular season for approximately three weeks in February.
As a result, odd-numbered years have a shorter regular season than even-numbered years. For example, the 2017-18 NHL season began on October 4th and ended on April 8th. The 2018-19 schedule started on October 3rd and will conclude on April 6th.
Assuming there are no major weather delays or other unforeseen postponements, the 2019-20 NHL season will get underway on October 2nd and wrap up on April 4th. So mark your calendars and get ready for another exciting year of hockey!
NHL Regular Season
The National Hockey League’s (NHL) regular season begins in October and ends in April. The Stanley Cup Playoffs follow the regular season, and the Stanley Cup Finals award the Stanley Cup to the playoff champion.
Pre-Season
Pre-season play in the National Hockey League (NHL) typically refers to a series of exhibition games prior to the start of the regular season. These exhibitions games are used by NHL coaches to evaluate their team’s players and existing talent, as well as to give newer players, such as recent draftees and prospects, an opportunity to prove that they are capable of playing at the NHL level.
The pre-season period also provides teams with an opportunity to play against other teams in preparation for the rigours of the regular season schedule. Although the results of pre-season games do not count towards regular season standings points, some pre-season tournaments, such as the NHL Prospects Tournament and the Traverse City Prospects Tournament, award a championship trophy to the winning team.
In recent years, the NHL has been increasingly focused on promoting its brand internationally, and as such, many pre-season games are now played in various cities across Europe and Asia. The NHL Global Series is an annual event that sees one or two NHL teams open their regular season with a handful of games played against each other inEurope.
Similarly, the NHL China Games is an annual event in which one or two NHL teams play a pair of exhibition games against each other in China.
Regular Season
The National Hockey League (NHL) regular season begins in October and ends in April. Each team plays 82 games during the regular season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs start in April and end in June, with the Stanley Cup Final being played in June.
NHL Playoffs
The NHL playoffs are a postseason tournament held after the conclusion of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) regular season. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of the playoffs.
Conclusion
The NHL season is a long one, with each team playing 82 regular season games. The regular season starts in October and ends in April, with the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning in April and the Stanley Cup Final being played in June.
