Vancouver Canucks to begin NHL season earlier than ever before
When the puck drops for the Vancouver Canucks’ 57th NHL season, the club will make history.
On Wednesday, the NHL released a schedule of every team’s home opener. For the first time ever, the Canucks will begin their regular season in September.
Vancouver will visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Tuesday, Sept. 29, which is the first day of the 2026-27 NHL regular season. Two days later, the Canucks will have their home opener on Thursday, Oct. 1, where they’ll once again face the Oilers.
The NHL revealed the home openers for each NHL team on Wednesday. (NHL)
Before this NHL schedule tease was revealed, the earliest the Canucks ever played a regular-season game was on Oct. 1. That occurred against the Calgary Flames in 2009.
The NHL regular season is expanding to 84 games, starting in 2026-27, based on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that was finalized last June. This CBA is a four-year agreement, meaning that an 84-game regular season will be the norm for the foreseeable future.
Because the regular season has been extended, there are now only four preseason games for each NHL team.
The last time Vancouver played Edmonton to open the season was a memorable affair, as they walloped the Oilers 8-1 at Rogers Arena to begin one of their best seasons in franchise history. Brock Boeser scored four goals in that game, while J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson had four points each.
Feels like a lifetime ago now.
Vancouver will officially open up their regular season against either Edmonton or the Calgary Flames for the 13th consecutive year. The last time they opened their campaign against a different team was back in 2013-14, when the Canucks began their regular season against the San Jose Sharks.
Following the home opener release, the NHL will unveil the entire schedule for the 2026-27 NHL season on Thursday, July 16, at 10 a.m. PT.