During Tuesday’s NHL Board of Governors meeting in New York, commissioner Gary Bettman hinted at a handful of intriguing possibilities for the future.
Along with discussing expansion and the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, Bettman revealed that the possibility of reducing preseason games and adding more regular-season games is “on the list of things to think about.”
As per Pierre LeBrun of TSN, the schedule change would include reducing every team’s preseason to four games.
The NHL and NHLPA have already chatted about it and will do so more seriously in CBA talks: reduce pre-season to 4 games (and add 2 games to regular season to make it 84).
That’s the idea anyway. We’ll see where it goes in CBA talks.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 2, 2024
Though nothing is set in stone, expanding the 82-game campaign could allow for a more balanced schedule for every team. It would also decrease the likelihood of players sustaining injuries in the preseason.
As David Alter of Hockey News pointed out, extending the regular season by two games creates a more cohesive schedule of matchups against teams within the same division and those in other conferences.
An even 84 game schedule will allow for a perfectly balanced schedule of..
4 games against your division
3 games against other division within conference
2 games against other conference opponents.With 82 games, there are two division opponents you can only play 3 times. https://t.co/2ozbjq1VNi
— David Alter (@dalter) October 2, 2024
The idea of expanding the schedule isn’t anything new for the NHL, though.
The league’s calendar has changed significantly over the years, starting with just 22 games in its inaugural 1917-18 season. By the 1940s, teams were playing 50 games, and this grew to 60, 70, and eventually 80 games through the 1960s and 1970s.
Funnily enough, the NHL even experimented with 84-game seasons during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 campaigns before trimming it back to the current 82-game format.
Along with more games, Bettman also floated the idea of more money, suggesting that a $4.5 million jump in the salary cap could be implemented next season. That would bring the new team spending limit to around $92.5 million annually.
The commissioner emphasized that the figure is “way preliminary,” shortly after revealing that the league and NHL Players’ Association are expected to begin talks on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) early next year.
With all that in mind, no changes to the schedule will take place before the current CBA expires in September 2026.