NHL releases a sneak peak at the 2025-26 schedule.

In spite of the fact that we are right in the middle of the summer, the National Hockey League has decided to tease hockey fans with a little taste of what we can expect when the 2025-26 NHL regular season gets underway on October 7th later this year.

On Monday, the league announced 3 games that will be held on opening night with matchups between the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers, and Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings all officially announced.

You can see the official announcement just below:

Now of course this isn't enough information for fans to plan out how and when they will be attending games this season, but the good news is that you won't have to wait much longer. The NHL is expected to announce the complete schedule later this week on Wednesday, which should give you plenty of leeway ahead of next season.

The reaction to today's announcement has been mixed with some fans unhappy that the Penguins and Blackhawks are being featured on opening day despite most pundits predicting that neither team will make the playoffs next season.

What do you think of the first 3 matchups announced for the NHL's season opening night on October 7th? Are these matchups just fine or has the NHL missed the mark a little with the team's they've chosen to feature? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.