Red Wings release 2025-2026 regular season schedule

Updated 9x at 4:08 PM: The Detroit Red Wings have released their 2025-2026 regular season schedule:

Update #1: Here’s the Red Wings’ schedule press release:

RED WINGS RELEASE 2025-26 REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE

Home Opener for Detroit’s Centennial Season will feature Original Six matchup with Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, October 9

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today released their schedule for the 2025-26 regular season and the team’s 100th overall in the National Hockey League. The Red Wings will open their Centennial season on home ice at Little Caesars Arena with an Original Six matchup against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.

Ticket on-sale information for the preseason and regular season, including special theme nights and promotional giveaways, will be announced at a later date. Fans can sign up for the priority presale list today for the opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public by visiting the 2025-26 Priority Presale page.

Fans can also choose from two available 10-game plans, presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, including the New Year’s Eve game plan and the Thanksgiving Eve game plan. Visit DetroitRedWings.com/10gameplans for more information. 

This season’s 82-game slate features 26 games against Atlantic Division rivals, 24 games against the remaining Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division and two games against all 16 Western Conference foes.

Of the 41 NHL games to be played at Little Caesars Arena, 20 are scheduled for weekends including five Fridays, nine Saturdays and six Sundays. The Red Wings will spend the most time on home ice during the month of November, when they host nine of 14 games scheduled for that month.

The Red Wings will open the 2025-26 season with five consecutive Atlantic Division matchups, starting on Thursday, Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. before hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Detroit’s first road game of the season will be the following Monday, Oct. 13, when facing the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena at 4 p.m., before returning to Little Caesars Arena for matchups against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (Wednesday, Oct. 15) and Tampa Bay Lightning (Friday, Oct. 17).

On Tuesday, Oct. 28, the team will begin a five-game road trip out West starting with the St. Louis Blues and ending with the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Upon returning to Detroit, the Red Wings will play four of their nine home games during November, facing off against the New York Rangers on Friday, Nov. 7, Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, Nov. 9, Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, Nov. 13, and Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, Nov. 15. Detroit will play games both the day before and after Thanksgiving, hosting the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and Tampa Bay on Friday, Nov. 28.

December will feature the longest road trip of the season for Detroit, beginning with a stop in Columbus on Thursday, Dec. 4 before the team heads to Seattle on Saturday, Dec. 6 to begin its Western leg of the trip. The Red Wings will end the six-game road trip the following Saturday, Dec. 13 with a stop in Chicago before returning home to Detroit. Little Caesars Arena will once again be home to a New Year’s Eve game at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, when the Winnipeg Jets make their sole trip to Detroit this season.

January will begin with a pair of games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, starting first at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, Jan. 1 before the Red Wings host the Penguins at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Jan. 3 for a 12 p.m. matinee. Later in the month, Detroit will play in its 11th back-to-back set, facing Toronto at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 21 before heading to Minnesota for a matchup with the Wild on Thursday, Jan. 22.

The four-game slate for February will be entirely on the road, starting with a two-game trip against the Colorado Avalanche (Monday, Feb. 2) and Utah Mammoth (Wednesday, Feb. 4). The NHL will then break for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, scheduled from Feb. 11 to Feb. 22. Upon returning to NHL action, the Red Wings will hit the road beginning Thursday, Feb. 26 for a three-game stretch ending in Nashville on Monday, March 2.

Eastern Conference matchups will dominate the March schedule for Detroit, highlighted by seven games scheduled against Atlantic Division opponents including the Florida Panthers (March 6 at Little Caesars Arena and March 10 at Amerant Bank Arena), Tampa Bay Lightning (March 12 at Amalie Arena), Montreal Canadiens (March 19 at Little Caesars Arena), Boston Bruins (March 21 at Little Caesars Arena), Ottawa Senators (March 24 at Little Caesars Arena) and Buffalo Sabres (March 27 at KeyBank Center).

The final home game of the season will take place on Saturday, April 11 when the Red Wings host the New Jersey Devils at 5 p.m. for Fan Appreciation Night. Detroit will then end the 2025-26 regular season campaign with a pair of Atlantic Division games on the road, starting first with the Lightning on Monday, April 13. Detroit’s regular season finale will take place at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday, April 15, against the Panthers at 7 p.m. 

Update #2: The Red Wings just posted their press release on DetroitRedWings.com…

And there’s this:

Update #3: NHL.com confirms at least one national broadcast:

Oct. 13: Detroit Red Wings at Toronto Maple Leafs; St. Louis Blues at Vancouver Canucks (Prime Monday Night Hockey)

The second season of “Prime Monday Night Hockey” kicks off with a doubleheader on Canadian Thanksgiving when the Atlantic Division rival Red Wings visit the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Later that night, the Blues visit the Canucks at Rogers Arena.

Update #4: Here’s the Free Press’s Helene St. James on the schedule:

A new season brings new hope that the now nine-year-old playoff drought may end, and now the Wings have the dates that will map their path. The NHL released the 2025-26 schedule, and the Wings start up Oct. 9 at home against an Original Six rival, the Montreal Canadiens.

The traditional New Year’s Eve game will be against the Winnipeg Jets – and then the Wings play Jan. 1 at the Pittsburgh Penguins.

There’s only four games in February as the NHL goes on break for the Olympic Games.

The Wings’ finale is April 15 at the Florida Panthers.

Update #5: Tweets of note…

Update #6:

Update #7: From MLive’s Ryan Zuke:

Here are some other key dates:

Oct. 15 and March 6 vs. Florida – Detroit will face the Panthers four times this season, including these two dates at home.  

Oct. 19 vs. Edmonton – Connor McDavid and the Oilers’ lone trip to Little Caesars Arena this season.

Oct. 30 vs. Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. – Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan will face his most recent former team.

Oct. 31 vs. Anaheim, 10 p.m. – Red Wings goalie John Gibson will face his former team during the first month of the season. He spent the first 12 years of his career with the Ducks before being traded this offseason.

Nov. 9 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m. – Jeff Blashill’s first game back in Detroit as a head coach. It also will be Wings fans’ only opportunity to see former No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard at home.

Dec. 31 vs. Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m. – The traditional New Year’s Eve game will be against last season’s President Trophy winner.

Jan. 1 at Pittsburgh – 7 p.m. – Detroit will have a quick turnaround and ring in the new year against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

Feb. 4 at Utah, 9 p.m. – The final game before a two-week break for the Winter Olympics.

Feb. 26 at Ottawa, 7 p.m. – Detroit will head on a three-game road trip following the Olympic break, beginning against the Senators.

April 11 vs. New Jersey Devils, 5 p.m. – Detroit’s final home game of the season and Fan Appreciation Night.

Update #8: Here’s more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff…

The Red Wings endure a five-game road trip from October 28 to November 4. There’s a season-high six-game road sojourn in December.

However, the longest time without a game in Detroit will come in February. The Red Wings will go that entire month without playing a game at LCA. Following a January 31 home date facing the Colorado Avalanche, the next home game for the Wings is a March 4 visit by the Vegas Golden Knights.

In between are five road games, as well as the Olympic break from February 8-21.

It’s the Winnipeg Jets providing opposition for the traditional New Year’s Eve game at LCA. Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins make their only visit to Detroit on January 3.

Following a four-game homestand in April, the Red Wings close out regular-season play with a Florida trip to meet the Lightning (April 13) and Panthers (April 15).

And here’s a bit of schedule talk from the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

This season’s 82-game slate includes 26 games against Atlantic Division rivals, 24 against the remaining Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division, and two games each against all 16 Western Conference teams.

Of the 41 games at LCA, 20 are scheduled for weekends including five Fridays, nine Saturdays and six Sundays. The Red Wings will spend the most time on home ice during the month of November, when they host nine of 14 games during that month.

The Red Wings begin the season with five consecutive Atlantic Division matchups, starting with the opener against Montreal, before hosting Toronto (Oct. 11), then Detroit’s first road game of the season (Oct. 13 in Toronto) before returning to LCA for games against two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida (Oct. 15) and Tampa Bay (Oct. 17).

The Wings will play games both the day before and after Thanksgiving, hosting Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and Tampa Bay on Friday, Nov. 28. The annual New Year’s Eve game will take place at 6:30 p.m. against Winnipeg.

The NHL will break for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, scheduled from Feb. 11 to Feb. 22.

The final home game of the season will take place on Saturday, April 11, when the Red Wings host New Jersey. The Wings end the regular season schedule with road games in Tampa (April 13) and Florida (April 15).

Update #9: From DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen:

There are four home-and-home series on the schedule. The first is just a game into the season, as the Red Wings host the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11 before visiting them on October 13. Later that month they host the St. Louis Blues on the 25th and then visit them on the 28th. Detroit closes out November with a visit to Boston on the 29th before the Red Wings host the Bruins on December 2. A pair of back-to-backs on December 20 and 21 sees the Red Wings visit, then host, the Washington Capitals. Detroit kicks off 2026 with a visit to Pittsburgh on New Years Day, followed by hosting the Penguins on January 3. Finally the Red Wings host the Colorado Avalanche on January 31 before visiting the Mile High City on February 2.

That January 31 game is of particular note as it will be the Red Wings’ last game at Little Caesars Arena for over a month. The NHL’s break for the Winter Olympics is sandwiched by a pair of short road trips for Detroit, meaning the Wings won’t return home until hosting the Vegas Golden Knights on March 4.

Including the aforementioned series against the Capitals, the Red Wings play on consecutive nights 13 times over the season, with travel involved between games for 12 of those sets.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

2 thoughts on “Red Wings release 2025-2026 regular season schedule”

  1. From that ninth update, thanks for catching a placeholder I missed. There are actually six home-and-home series. I typed “four” as a guess and told myself I’d go back and edit after I actually found them all, then never did. Oops.

    1. Thank you for doing the hard work of checking out the schedule and revealing important points!

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