The 2026-27 NHL regular season officially begins today, September 29, 2026, with a tripleheader that marks the start of the first 84-game regular season schedule in over three decades. While the extra two games provide more ice time for fans, the method of actually watching those games has undergone its most significant transformation since the dawn of the streaming era.
Following the total collapse of the FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports) and its parent company, Main Street Sports Group, in April 2026, the league’s regional broadcast map has been completely redrawn. For fans of nearly half the league, the old cable-reliant regional sports network (RSN) model has been replaced by a fragmented mix of Prime Video, DAZN, and new direct-to-consumer tiers from ESPN.
The New Regional Homes: Prime Video and DAZN
Amazon’s Prime Video has stepped in as the primary local streaming destination for seven franchises. However, the pricing structure is not uniform across these teams. For fans of the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, and Seattle Kraken, local broadcasts are included as part of a standard Prime membership.
In contrast, fans of the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues—teams that were forced to find new homes following the FanDuel Sports Network shutdown—must pay a premium. These “add-on” subscriptions are priced at approximately $20 per month or $100 for the full season on top of the base Prime subscription fee.
In the New York and New Jersey markets, MSG Networks has shifted its in-market streaming strategy. For the 2026-27 season, the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and New Jersey Devils have moved their streaming home to DAZN. This partnership replaces the previous MSG+ app, consolidating the Tri-State area teams under a single platform already established in the global sports streaming market.
ESPN Select and the Out-of-Market Solution
National coverage and out-of-market viewing in the United States have also shifted with the launch of ESPN’s standalone direct-to-consumer service. Replacing the older ESPN+ interface for hockey, the new service is split into two distinct tiers:
- ESPN Select ($14/month): This tier includes NHL Power Play, which remains the primary destination for watching out-of-market games (any game not involving your local team).
- ESPN Unlimited ($32/month): This tier includes the full suite of ESPN linear channels (ESPN, ESPN2, etc.), which are required for high-profile national broadcasts and exclusive rivalry matchups.
The Utah Mammoth are now officially competing under their permanent branding following their inaugural year as the Utah Hockey Club.
Wednesday Night Hockey in Canada
North of the border, the viewing experience has fundamentally changed for mid-week national games. This season marks the beginning of a 12-year agreement where Rogers has sub-licensed national English-language rights for “Wednesday Night Hockey” to Prime Video.
Unlike previous seasons where these games were available via Sportsnet or the Sportsnet+ app, they are now exclusive to Prime Video in Canada. This represents the first time a major weekly NHL national broadcast package in Canada has moved entirely to a streaming platform. While Saturday night “Hockey Night in Canada” remains on CBC and Sportsnet, Wednesday nights now require a separate login for Canadian viewers.
The shift to an 84-game schedule—the first such expansion since the 1993-94 season—comes at a time when the league is prioritizing digital accessibility to offset the loss of traditional RSN revenue. For the consumer, this means that while “blackouts” still exist based on geographic location, the tools to bypass traditional cable packages are more robust, albeit more spread out across different apps, than in any previous season.
