"Let’s compete w college football" "Gary bettman special": Hockey fans irate over 'weird' NHL scheduling

The new NHL season has started, and fans are excited to watch their teams again. The season began on October 7 with three games - Florida vs. Chicago (Florida wins 3-2), Pittsburgh vs. New York Rangers (Pens win 3-0), and Colorado vs. Los Angeles (Canes win 4-1).

However, as we head further into the first week of NHL action, we are starting to see fans unhappy with the schedule. One hockey page posted on X:

“Thu - 14 games, Fri - 0 games, Sat - 16 games, Sun - 1 game.”

Soon, fans started reacting to the schedule plan on X.

"Gary Bettman special." One fan called it.

"So sick, let’s compete with college football, great job NHL," Another fan said.

"NHL tries to create these days where all teams play but fail to market them in any way whatsoever. Just ends up with a weird schedule." a fan wrote.

Here are some more reactions from fans on X:

"NHL’s back on a Tuesday and no hockey on the first Friday night of the season. Peak NHL scheduling," another fan critiqued.

"NHL games are mainly on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays. Y’all act like this is new 😂" one fan wrote.

"1st Saturday having everyone play is good. It hasn’t really been marketed as the big event though, typical NHL" a fan reacted.

Many fans expect the league to spread the games more evenly.

Panthers raised their banner before new NHL season

Florida Panthers started their NHL 2025-26 season by raising their Stanley Cup banner before Chicago Blackhawks game. Coach Paul Maurice talked about the ring ceremony on Monday and the banner raising on Tuesday.

"So, the last 24 hours, we got to relive it a little bit. It was very nice." Maurice said, while mentioning that winning the Cup twice is rare and special.

Forward Brad Marchand said it was a special feeling to see the banner go up. He added that once the puck drops, the team focuses on a new season and new challenges.

"It’s a pretty special feeling, being able to watch it go up, and now it’s going to be up there forever." Marchand said, via NHL.com.

The ceremony included a video recap of the 2024-25 season, showing key acquisitions Seth Jones and Marchand and the Panthers' Stanley Cup win over Edmonton. The players watched the banner rise together, and then started the new season.

About the author

Ankit is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with over 3 years of experience in the writing industry. He has expertise in sports, product, and travel content writing. His interest in ice hockey was piqued after watching Sidney Crosby play and he has been passionately following the game since then. Ankit admires Crosby’s personality and hockey IQ, and when he crossed the 1,500 points tally, Ankit was among the biggest fans to celebrate the occasion.

An Edmonton Oilers fan because of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Ankit also admires the Pittsburgh Penguins due to Crosby and the Colorado Avalanche for Nathan MacKinnon. He is also a fan of Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

Holding a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Language, Ankit believes his education has helped him develop a knack for presenting information in a precise and compelling manner. He only sources information from credible avenues and trusted people from his network for his articles.

When he is not watching or writing about the NHL, Ankit loves listening to music and reading books.

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Edited by Ankit Kumar