The Detroit Red Wings released their 2026-2027 regular season schedule today at 1 PM EDT, and now the Wings’ beat writers are weighing in regarding the highlights thereof.
Here’s MLive’s Ansar Khan’s assessment…
Here are some key dates:
Oct. 2 vs. N.Y. Rangers (6:30 p.m.): It’s the season-opener; will Dylan Larkin still be a Red Wing and in the lineup after requesting a trade in the offseason?
Dec. 22 vs. Toronto (7:30 p.m.): The first of two home games vs. Toronto could be the first chance for Detroit fans to see 2026 No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna.
Dec. 31 vs. Carolina (2 p.m.): The traditional New Year’s Eve game will be a matinee contest for a change and the first of two LCA appearances by the reigning Stanley Cup champions who also visit on April 2.
Jan. 2 vs. Edmonton (1 p.m.): It’s the lone LCA appearance by three-time league MVP Connor McDavid and first-year Oilers coach Mike Babcock, the former Wings head coach who’s back behind an NHL bench for the first time since 2019.
Jan. 7 vs. Utah (7 p.m.): Could former Red Wings’ top goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa be in net for the Mammoth?
Feb. 5-6: NHL All-Star at UBS Arena in Long Island, N.Y.
Feb. 15 at Vegas (10 p.m.): Keegan Kolesar returns to Vegas, where he spent seven seasons before being traded to the Red Wings on July 1.
March 24 vs. Washington (7:30 p.m.): Quite possibly the last Detroit appearance for Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer.
April 9 vs. Pittsburgh (7 p.m.): Home finale.
April 10 at Buffalo (6 p.m.): Season finale.
Here’s more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff…
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, Detroit will honor a century of hockey tradition when the Red Wings face the Boston Bruins in the Centennial Celebration game. This game will mark the 100th anniversary of the franchise’s inaugural NHL game in 1926. That game, played at Windsor Arena, saw the Bruins win 2-0.
Revealing the club’s entire slate on the 84-game, 2026-27 NHL schedule, Detroit will also play host to an Original Six matchup on opening night. The New York Rangers will visit Little Caesars Arena on October 2.
The new schedule matrix will see the Wings play 28 intra-divisional games against Atlantic Division opponents – two home and two away. Detroit will face each Metropolitan Division team three times. Four Metro squads will visit LCA twice and play host to the Red Wings once. Four other clubs from that division will visit LCA once and play host to the Wings twice.
The Red Wings will also play home-and-home against each of the 16 Western Conference teams.
The traditional New Year’s Eve game will take on added flair this season. It’s the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes providing the opposition in the final game on the 2026 calendar. Detroit’s other traditional home date, on Thanksgiving Eve, brings the worst team in the NHL during the 2025-26 season to town for the only time during regular-season play. Visiting that night will be the Vancouver Canucks.
The Red Wings will play a season-high nine home games in both October and January. Detroit will play a dozen back-to-back games during the campaign. Seven of the club’s first eight regular-season games will be played on home ice.
Detroit’s longest homestand is a pair of four-game stints – October 2-9 and November 23-29. The Red Wings will endure a season-long five-game road sojourn from January 30 through February 15.
DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen broke down the schedule as well:
The Red Wings open their campaign on October 2, hosting the New York
A new addition to the calendar is the November 18 home game against
Rangers, with seven of their first eight games played at hoTheir traditional New Years Eve game has been bumped to the afternoon, a 2:00 PM start against the Carolina Hurricanes.the Boston Bruins, which the team is calling the Centennial Celebration.
Throughout the season, the Red Wings will play on back-to-back nights
That date will mark 100 years since the first game of the Detroit
Cougars, a 2-0 loss to the Bruins at Border Cities Arena in Windsor.12 times. Their only home-and-home of the season is against the
I’m looking at that New Years Eve game and wondering a bit. The Red
Washington Capitals in March.Wings almost always play at home on New Years Eve night. Why move that
The Great Lakes Invitational is in Grand Rapids now. The Detroit
game to the afternoon unless there’s an arena conflict?Pistons’ schedule hasn’t been released yet but it would be a quick
turnaround from hockey to basketball after a 2:00 PM start. I wonder if
the Red Wings are giving PWHL Detroit the evening game that day. We know
there are going to be NHL/PWHL back-to-backs this season. Some of the
weekend afternoon games can be explained away as part of the national TV
broadcast so we don’t know for sure that the Wings took the early game
with PWHL Detroit playing at night on those days. But New Years Eve is a
bit different, so it sticks out to me.
