Hockey

84-game regular season: could start as early as 2026-27
Félix Forget
84-game regular season: could start as early as 2026-27
Credit: Getty Images

The 2025-26 season will be the last year of the current collective agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA. That means it's a year away from expiring… but the good news is that we're not (really) expecting a labor dispute on this issue.

Both sides were hoping to settle before the Stanley Cup Final, but there's been a bit of a delay. That said, it's really no big deal: it'll get settled in the end.

That said, the new collective agreement will come with changes. And the number of matches has been mentioned as one of them for a few years now.

And rumor has it that this subject is currently part of the negotiations. The plan would be to add two regular-season games, taking it from 82 to 84.

According to Pierre LeBrun, if this change is confirmed, we can expect a shorter preparatory schedule, possibly with only four games per team.

And in reality, a measure of this kind is likely to suit just about everyone. For the league, regular-season games are much more profitable than pre-season games… and even for the players, the pre-season schedule is often a little long for everyone's liking.

The only ones who suffer in all this are the players who are fighting for a position, and who will have a little less time to develop their skills. Unfortunately, this group doesn't often get the short end of the stick at the negotiating table.

Remember that next fall, the Canadiens will play six preparatory games before 82 regular-season games. So, in 2026-27, the club would play the same number of games: the only difference is that there would be two fewer in pre-season and two more in the regular season.

And for fans, two more meaningful games is also something to look forward to.

So expect all this to happen as early as 2026-27. Because no, I don't think that's a problematic issue in the negotiations.


Overtime

– Personally, I don't think it's going to happen.

– Interesting news.

– Logic: Cooper Flagg was selected first overall in tonight's NBA draft.

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