The 2025–26 NHL season is the upcoming 109th season of operation (108th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season is scheduled to begin on October 7, 2025. A mid-season break will take place in February due to the NHL's participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The Stanley Cup playoffs are then planned to begin in April 2026, ending with the Stanley Cup Finals in June. After playing the previous season under its temporary identity, the Utah Hockey Club was renamed the Utah Mammoth in the off-season.
League business.
Collective bargaining agreement.
The 2020 extension of the 2013 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires at the end of the 2025–26 NHL season. On June 27, 2025, the league and the NHL Players' Association agreed on a new four-year extension that will take effect from the 2026–27 to 2029–30 seasons. Among the changes under the agreement, the 2026–27 regular season will expand from 82 to 84 games.
Entry draft.
The 2025 NHL entry draft took place on June 27–28, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Utah rebranding.
After opting to play the 2024–25 season with a temporary identity, the Utah Hockey Club announced on January 29, 2025, that fans attending their following four home games in late January and early February could vote for a permanent identity for the club, with the final three options being the existing Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth, and Utah Wasatch. While the Wasatch name was not one of the six finalists, it was intended to honor the idea of a mythical snow creature similar to the yeti, with a "Utah-centric" approach inspired by the Wasatch Mountains; though originally considered a likely name, "Yeti" or "Yetis" had been ruled out as a choice following trademark disputes with Yeti Holdings. One day later, on January 30, the team announced that "Wasatch" was being removed from the survey, being replaced by previously announced option "Utah Outlaws". 
On April 30, 2025, speculation arose that "Mammoth" was the selected name following leaks online that showed the team changing its YouTube handle to "UtahMammoth." This speculation was confirmed on May 7, 2025, when the team officially revealed their permanent name as the "Utah Mammoth." A new logo and uniforms were revealed as well, retaining the same color and striping scheme.
Coaching changes.
(*) Indicates interim
Front office changes.
(*) Indicates interim
Regular season.
The regular season is planned to be held from October 7, 2025, to April 2026, with all specific dates and start times to be announced at a later date in June or July 2025.
International games.
The Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to play against each other on November 14 and 16, 2025, at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
Outdoor games.
The league has scheduled two outdoor games this season, both planned to be held in Florida:
Canceled All-Star Game and Olympics break.
The 2026 All-Star Game was planned to be held in early February 2026, at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, the home of the New York Islanders. The league intended to use the game as a "send-off" for the league's players participation at the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, with players who would have competed in both leaving directly from New York to Italy. This is scheduled to be the first time that the league participated in the Olympics since 2014, and it would have been the first time the All-Star Game was held in the same year as Olympic participation since 2002. However, the league announced on April 30, 2025, that the game had been canceled, with UBS Arena instead hosting an unspecified Olympic kickoff event.
Media rights.
Canada.
National.
This will be the 12th and final season of the Canadian national broadcast rights deal with Sportsnet, before a new 12-year contract begins in 2026–27. The original deal expiring this 2025–26 season includes Sportsnet's sub-licensing agreements to air Saturday "Hockey Night in Canada" games on CBC Television, French-language broadcasts on TVA Sports, and the final year of Amazon Prime Video's two-year streaming deal.
United States.
National.
This will be the fifth season of the league's seven-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals with the ESPN family of networks and TNT Sports.