Plus, other thoughts on the NHL’s schedule and how it impacts the American Hockey League.
The NHL released its schedule this week, so now hockey fans can map out their entire season. This is particularly relevant for fans of both NHL and American Hockey League teams who want to attend or watch both teams.
The interesting note following both schedule releases was the overlap of the two leagues. Specifically, both the AHL and NHL schedules are in sync. While the NHL begins the season on Tuesday, September 29th, and the AHL starts on Friday, Oct. 2nd, both leagues end their seasons a day apart, with the NHL concluding on April 10th and the AHL wrapping up on April 11th.
Why The AHL Is In Sync With The NHL
Typically, the AHL starts the regular season a week later and ends either a week or a few days after the NHL. This season, both leagues are on the same page, and while the Calder Cup Playoffs will likely end after the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they won’t end a week or later.
The simple reason why both leagues are ending around the same time is the NHL’s move to 84 games. The extra two games now create a 12-game gap between the two leagues, and enough for the AHL to make up ground.
It’s worth adding that the NHL is taking more time off for the All-Star Break. While most AHL teams have a week off in the middle of the season, most NHL teams are taking nine or 10 days off between games. This doesn’t sound like much but for the AHL, which hosts most of its games on the weekends, it helps them make up ground.
Is This A Good Thing?
This is a trend both leagues have wanted for years, especially with NHL teams having a stronger say in their AHL team’s decisions. It’s why teams moved their affiliates close by (except the New York Islanders but that’s a different story) and why AHL teams have cut down on the three-in-threes that were once a common occurrence in the league.
This is the ideal for both leagues. The best-case scenario is when a team and their affiliate play the same day and are both at home as well. It allows a prospect to participate in the morning skate with their AHL team and then play that night with their NHL team.
Better yet, the Calder Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Playoffs will start around the same time. One of the common complaints about the AHL is that the playoffs go into June and end well after the NHL. This season, there’s a good chance both leagues wrap up the Final the same week.
Other Schedule Thoughts
The NHL is doing the Frozen Frenzy in early October. It’s one of the best regular-season days since all 16 teams are in action and there’s action across the board. The problem, of course, is that it’s on a random Tuesday night in October, when the games, to be blunt, don’t matter. It’s something that they should have in April and would be ideal for the final day of the season.
The AHL should adopt the Frozen Frenzy or at least their version of it. This would be best for a Saturday night when every team is in action but if the league streams all the games in one day, it will do wonders to grow the game and interest in the AHL. And it’s possible for the league to do it on a Saturday without tinkering too much with the schedule. The Eastern Conference teams can start their games at 6:00 PM and stagger games every half hour from there (or, in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' case, every 17 minutes).
Among the four big sports in North America, hockey is the only one that takes off for a handful of holidays. There are no games on Thanksgiving, and both leagues take a few days or even a week off for Christmas. The other leagues, specifically the NFL and NBA, have leaned into the holiday schedule, adding more games knowing the attendance and ratings will be higher for those games. The NFL, most notably, added a Thanksgiving Eve game to their schedule, so there are three days in a row of pro football plus a full weekend of college football. They’ve cornered off the week. Hockey doesn’t have a time of the year or a holiday to claim (unless you count St. Patrick's Day).
It makes anyone who follows hockey wonder if the AHL or NHL will follow suit. The players don’t want this, and for many, a time off is a good time to recharge, yet it’s something that will bring more revenue and fans to both leagues.
