The Florida Panthers will raise their franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup banner at their 2024-25 … [+] home opener at Amerant Bank Arena on Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
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Not even two months have passed since the Florida Panthers hoisted their franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup on June 24. But in just a few weeks’ time, players will be starting to assemble in their work cities for optional ‘captains’ skates’ ahead of the openings of formal training camps.
Pre-season games will run from Sept. 21 – Oct. 5. Then, the Panthers will raise their championship banner as part of a North American opening-night triple-header on ESPN.
International Events
Like last year, the regular season will actually begin a little earlier, overseas. But the league’s isn’t venturing as far as Australia this fall — the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres will kick things off at O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on Oct. 4 and 5.
Leading up to those games, the Sabres will finish off their training camp in Germany. They’ll become the first NHL team ever to play in Munich on Sept. 27 when they square off against Red Bull Munich of Germany’s top league, the DEL. The game will be the grand-opening event at Red Bull Munich’s brand-new 11,500-seat arena, SAP Garden.
27 October 2023, Bavaria, Munich: The construction site of the SAP Garden. Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa … [+] (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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A second Global Series event will take place on Nov. 1-2. The champion Panthers will face off against the Dallas Stars for a pair of games at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
When it comes to international play in 2024-25, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With NHL players set to return to the 2026 Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014, the NHL is holding its own international event in February of 2025, the ‘4 Nations Face-Off.’
Teams representing Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland will do battle in Montreal and Boston through a three-game round-robin, following by a winner-take-all championship match on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Pre-Season Play
On Tuesday, the NHL released its full 106-game pre-season schedule.
In addition to the Sabres’ pre-season game in Munich, the league will also visit seven other non-NHL venues. The list includes two games for the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL-ready Videotron Centre in Quebec City. The 18,000-seat venue opened in 2015 but to this point, Quebec City has been snubbed as a potential expansion market.
The newly built Videotron Centre hosted an NHL pre-season game between the Montreal Canadiens and … [+] the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 28, 2015 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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Originally a World Hockey Association club, the Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL in 1979 alongside the Edmonton Oilers, original Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes). The Nordiques relocated to Denver in 1995, and became the Colorado Avalanche.
Another pre-season highlight will be a Battle of Florida matchup in Orlando, which should further increase the profile of the NHL in the state that has claimed three of the last five Stanley Cup championships.
Here is the full list of neutral-site games.
Sunday, Sept 22: St. Louis Blues vs. Utah Hockey Club @ Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines, Iowa
Wednesday, Sept. 25: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning @ Kia Center in Orlando, Florida
Wednesday, Sept. 25: Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks @ Abbotsford Center in Abbotsford, B.C.
Friday, Sept. 27: Buffalo Sabres vs. Red Bull Munich @ SAP Garden in Munich, Germany
Saturday, Sept. 28: Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings @ Toyota Center in Ontario, California
Sunday, Sept. 29: Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @ Sudbury Community Arena in Sudbury, Ontario (Kraft Hockeyville 2024)
Thursday, Oct. 3: Boston Bruins vs. Los Angeles Kings @ Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec
Saturday, Oct. 5: Florida Panthers vs. Los Angeles Kings @ Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec
Saturday, Oct. 5: Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues @ Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Utah Hockey Club Debut
In years past, the Delta Center in Salt Lake City has hosted neutral-site NHL pre-season games. This fall, it will be the new home venue for the Utah Hockey Club, whose players and hockey operations department came over from the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes organization in April.
Utah Hockey Club players are introduced to the fans at the sold out Delta Center on April 24, 2024 … [+] in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
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Utah’s first pre-season game will be in Des Moines on Sept. 22, against the St. Louis Blues. One day later, the team will play its first game at the Delta Center, hosting the Los Angeles Kings.
Due to a scheduling conflict at Delta Center, Utah’s second home pre-season game, against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 5, will be played at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. The 12,000 seat venue is home to the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies, a second-tier affiliate of the Avalanche.
Opening Night: Oct. 8, 2024
After the Sabres and Devils ring in the regular season in Prague, the NHL’s North American slate will kick off with a triple-header on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
The St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken will get things rolling with an afternoon affair at Climate Pledge Arena (4:30 p.m. ET). That will be followed by the Panthers’ banner-raising at Amerant Bank Arena and the beginning of their title defense against the Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET). The night will conclude with Utah’s first regular-season home game at Delta Center, against the Chicago Blackhawks (10 p.m. ET).
Outdoor Games
Due to the ‘4 Nations Face-Off,’ the NHL will not hold an All-Star weekend in 2024-25. The event will return early 2026, with the New York Islanders hosting at UBS Arena.
Only two outdoor games are on the schedule for the 2024-25 season:
Tuesday, Dec. 31: NHL Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field in Chicago
Saturday, Mar. 1: NHL Stadium Series between the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium at Ohio State University in Columbus
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Publish date : 2024-08-06 06:39:00
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