Accompanying the shift from an 82 game National Hockey League regular season schedule to an 84 game slate is the new, short, blink and you'll miss it NHL Preseason. Only four total games, but veteran players, defined as "players having played more than 100 NHL games", are limited to a maximum of two games.
Furthermore, the collective bargaining agreement that is in place until 2030 stipulates that veteran players can participate in no more than 13 preseason practice sessions. Rookies, or rather any player with less than 100 games played in the NHL, can participate in up to 18 practices. These changes will have a mixture of effects on the Edmonton Oilers and the league as a whole.
Opportunities to shine
Young players, and some bubble players, will benefit from an extended opportunity to show their coaches how they can assist the NHL franchise. Five practices with no, or at least fewer, veteran players on the ice will mean more 1-to-1 time with coaches, an increased awareness of the big club's systems, and the four versus two preseason games will mean elevated minutes and opportunity.
Surely coaches will approach this small slate of games in different ways. Some may spread the veteran presence out over the four games, others may concentrate it in the final one or two. For a new head coach, like Mike Babcock, I'd expect that he'll have a full NHL lineup in preseason Game 4. That's a single opportunity to truly see the team he has on his hands ahead of the season itself. And that means any younger players will need to make a lasting impression in the first couple games, or they simply won't be dressing for the last one.
Challenges with a short window
Recent news indicates that a number of Oilers players are dealing with offseason injuries. That's not unexpected in professional sports, but there is a reality to a shorter preseason allowing for less recovery time ahead of the official puck drop for Game 1 of the actual season. All the players in question, with enough time for healing, will surely make their own 2026-27 debuts, but the lack of preseason warm up games could mean a late ramp up for someone like Matt Savoie in terms of understanding a new coach's systems. This could be especially painful on the penalty kill, where being slightly late or out of position is statistically more likely to mean a goal against.
The preseason offers both a risk of injury and a path toward preventing them as well. Veteran players often play at something less than 100% physicality and effort ahead of the regular season and this may give their body a chance to recalibrate itself prior to the rigors of an actual NHL game. And since nobody plays sixty minutes in a given game, the reality is that most of the players will lof 30 minutes or less of actual playing time ahead of Game 1.
All these aspects aside, the shorter preseason IS the right move. Given that the league is going to an 84 game schedule, those two additional games are definitely going to be the cause of more injuries, aggravations, or even other things like suspensions, and removing some aspect of early wear and tear is the only fair exchange for the players participating.
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