Games to circle on this season’s NHL calendar

The NHL season kicks off next week with a colossal 1,344 games spread across the league's 32 teams. Each squad will play 84 matches, a slight increase from the previous season's 82 games. This expansion comes after the NHL reduced its training camps last year.

Five high-profile matchups are set to kick off the regular season on Tuesday. The Carolina Hurricanes will unveil their Stanley Cup banner before hosting the Florida Panthers. In Toronto, the Maple Leafs will see their top draft pick Gavin McKenna take to the ice for his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens. In Edmonton, the Oilers' new head coach Mike Babcock will make his coaching debut alongside captain Connor McDavid against the Vancouver Canucks.

Former NHL star Brady Tkachuk returns to the Ottawa Senators on October 21, facing his former team in a game that serves as a reunion of sorts. Tkachuk spent eight seasons in Ottawa after being drafted fourth overall in 2018. The Winnipeg Jets will host Montreal for the first outdoor game of the season in the Heritage Classic.

Two other outdoor games are scheduled for the season. The first will take place on New Year's Eve in Salt Lake City, where the Utah Mammoth will face the Colorado Avalanche in the Winter Classic. Later, on February 20, the Vegas Golden Knights will visit the Dallas Stars in Arlington, Texas, in another outdoor game known as the Stadium Series.

Several stars are returning to familiar surroundings. Winnipeg captain Quinn Hughes, who won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2023-24, will join his former team Vancouver on October 25. The Hurricanes will also prepare for a rematch of their Cup final victory over the Golden Knights on December 21.

The NHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition are returning to the schedule after being canceled for the past two years. The event, which will feature a 3-on-3 tournament, will be held at UBS Arena in New York, where Maple Leafs goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will face off against Florida Panthers star Victor Hedman for the first time since signing with Toronto.

The final game of the season will see Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals counterpart Alex Ovechkin face off for the fourth and final time. Both players, now 39 and 41 respectively, began their careers together in 2005 and have remained intertwined in the NHL for over two decades.