The team will open with a pair of games against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers
For a team needing to get off to a quick start after disasters the past two seasons, the Vancouver Canucks 2023-24 National Hockey League schedule is wrought with early peril.
The league calendar was released on Tuesday and sees the Canucks open with a home and home set against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. For the first time in five years, the Canucks will play their season opener at Rogers Arena on October 11th. But the team will then pack its bags for a five-game road trip that starts with a rematch in Edmonton on October 14th followed by games in Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay and Nashville.
Last season, McDavid recorded a hat trick on opening night against the Canucks leading the Oilers to a 5-3 comeback from an early 3-0 deficit. The Canucks will see the Oilers three times in their first 12 outings including both McDavid visits to Vancouver coming early in the season.
Overall, the Canucks will open with 13 of their first 22 games on the road including a second Eastern road trip in early November to Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal which will take place over four nights (November 9th to 12th).
The season's longest road trip comes early in the new year when the Canucks embark on a seven-game odyssey that starts in St. Louis and continues on to New Jersey and both New York teams followed by stops in Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Columbus.
February also includes a stretch of eight road games in a 10-game span.
That will be off-set by a nine-game homestand to close out the month of March. The challenge will be for the Canucks to ensure that those games in front of their home fans hold significance in the standings.
Among featured nights at Rogers Arena this season are visits from Bo Horvat and the New York Islanders on November 15th. North Vancouver native Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks will make their lone visit on January 22nd. The Toronto Maple Leafs will skate into Vancouver on January 20th. Pacific Northwest rival Seattle Kraken will travel up the I-5 once only this season on November 18th. And the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will come to town twice -- on November 30th and again on April 8th.
The schedule features a weeklong All Star break following a January 27th home game against Columbus until the team starts up again on February 6th in Carolina.
The Canucks regular season wraps up on April 18th in Winnipeg. The big question is will there be games to be scheduled beyond that one.