How to watch the NHL in 2026-27 in the US and Canada

The 2026-27 NHL season started on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and teams now play 84 games each, up from 82. That makes 1,344 regular-season games, and the last of them is on Saturday, April 10, 2027. The national TV partners are ESPN and ABC plus TNT Sports in the US, and Rogers' Sportsnet in Canada, which is in the first year of a new 12-year deal.

What changed this season

Three things are different from last winter. The season is longer, with 84 games starting on Sept. 29, and the national windows started with it: ESPN opened with a tripleheader that night, TNT followed with a doubleheader on Sept. 30, and ESPN's Frozen Frenzy on Oct. 13 had all 32 teams playing on the same day. In Canada, CBC no longer carries games, and Monday Night Hockey moved behind the Sportsnet+ paywall. TNT's regular-season coverage ends on April 8, 2027, with the Flyers at the Blue Jackets, two days before the last games of the season.

National games in the US

ESPN and TNT split the national schedule. ESPN has 100 exclusive games: 53 on ABC and ESPN, and 47 that stream on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu. TNT has 72 regular-season games, and those stream on HBO Max.

Partner	Games	Where to stream
ABC and ESPN	53	ESPN app
ESPN streaming only	47	ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
TNT	72	HBO Max
Out-of-market games	1,050+	NHL Power Play on the ESPN app

ESPN's games fall on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with most of them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. ABC Hockey Saturday starts on Jan. 16 with Bruins-Rangers at noon ET and runs for 16 Saturdays to the end of the regular season. ABC games are free over the air with an antenna.

On HBO Max, live sports come with the Standard plan ($18.49 a month) and the Premium plan ($22.99 a month), according to DealNews. The cheaper Basic with Ads plan does not include them. ESPN Unlimited costs about $32 a month after a price rise on Sept. 17.

Out-of-market games in the US

The NHL's out-of-market package is NHL Power Play on the ESPN app. It has more than 1,050 games this season, and ESPN says you can get it with an ESPN Unlimited plan or by signing in with a pay TV provider.

Big dates on US TV

• Heritage Classic: Jets and Canadiens, Oct. 25, Winnipeg, on TNT
• Thanksgiving Showdown: TNT doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 27
• Global Series: Hurricanes and Kraken in Helsinki on Nov. 12 and 14; Senators and Blackhawks in Dusseldorf on Dec. 18 and 20
• Winter Classic: the Utah Mammoth host the Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Dec. 31, 6 p.m. ET, on TNT
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day: TNT doubleheader, Jan. 18
• All-Star weekend at UBS Arena on Long Island: skills competition on ESPN, Feb. 5, 7 p.m. ET; All-Star Game on ABC, Feb. 6, 3 p.m. ET
• Stadium Series: Stars and Golden Knights at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Feb. 20, 8 p.m. ET, on ESPN's side

The schedule also has two rematches of last season's Stanley Cup Final: Vegas hosts Carolina on Dec. 21, and Carolina hosts Vegas on Jan. 17.

Playoffs in the US

ESPN's playoff coverage covers games in the first and second rounds and one conference final. TNT has the 2027 Stanley Cup Final, so the Cup is on TNT and HBO Max this year.

Watching in Canada

Rogers signed a 12-year deal worth CAD 11 billion that runs from 2026-27 to 2037-38. It covers national rights on every platform in English and French, the Stanley Cup Final, the All-Star Game and out-of-market rights for regional games. Rogers' earlier deal, signed in 2013, was worth $5.2 billion.

The biggest change is on Saturday night. Hockey Night in Canada is no longer on CBC: the sublicensing deal between Rogers and CBC ended with the 2026 playoffs and was not extended. Saturday hockey continues on Sportsnet. Under the previous deal, Rogers sublicensed French-language rights to TVA Sports.

Sportsnet+ is the streaming service, and its prices went up with the first billing cycle on or after Sept. 22:

Plan	Monthly (CAD)	Yearly (CAD)
Standard	$34.99 (was $29.99)	$269.99 (was $249.99)
Premium	$44.99 (was $42.99)	$344.99 (was $324.99)

Premium is the plan for out-of-market games. For Maple Leafs fans, The Hockey News says Standard covers most of the team's regional broadcasts, while fans outside Leafs territory need Premium. Monday Night Hockey is now exclusive to Sportsnet+, so viewers who get Sportsnet through a cable package need a $12.99 a month add-on for those games unless they subscribe to Sportsnet+ directly. Rogers TV Plus and Ultimate customers get the Monday games at no extra cost. Sportsnet also lifted 150 regional blackouts this season.

TSN also carries a share of Leafs games and needs its own subscription. The Hockey News priced a full setup for an in-market Leafs fan at Sportsnet+ Standard, TSN at $29.99 a month and Amazon Prime Video at $9.99 a month (Amazon has had a handful of exclusive Leafs games), about $75 a month before tax. A Leafs fan outside Leafs territory would need Sportsnet+ Premium and Prime Video instead, about $55. The 2027 Stanley Cup Final is on Sportsnet.

Picking what you need

In the US, start with your team's local channel, since most games air there. Add the ESPN app and HBO Max only if you want the national games, and use NHL Power Play if you live away from your team. In Canada, Sportsnet+ is the base, with Premium for fans who want out-of-market games, and TSN or Prime Video only if your team has games there.

CrackStreams lists the day's games and puck-drop times on its NHL page. For basketball, see our NBA guide.