Auch wenn die Playoffs gerade erst zu Ende gegangen sind, kündigt sich bereits die neue Season an, die am 7. Oktober starten wird.
Gestern wurden schon mal die Home-Opener der jeweiligen Teams bekannt gegeben:
FULL LIST OF HOME OPENERS, 2015-16 SEASON
Anaheim Ducks: Monday, Oct. 12 vs. Vancouver
Arizona Coyotes: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Pittsburgh
Boston Bruins: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Winnipeg
Buffalo Sabres: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Ottawa
Calgary Flames: Wednesday, Oct. 7 vs. Vancouver
Carolina Hurricanes: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Detroit
Chicago Blackhawks: Wednesday, Oct. 7 vs. NY Rangers
Colorado Avalanche: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Minnesota
Columbus Blue Jackets: Friday, Oct. 9 vs. NY Rangers
Dallas Stars: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Pittsburgh
Detroit Red Wings: Friday, Oct. 9 vs. Toronto
Edmonton Oilers: Thursday, Oct. 15 vs. St. Louis
Florida Panthers: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Philadelphia
Los Angeles Kings: Wednesday, Oct. 7 vs. San Jose
Minnesota Wild: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. St. Louis
Montreal Canadiens: Thursday, Oct. 15 vs. NY Rangers
Nashville Predators: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Carolina
New Jersey Devils: Friday, Oct. 9 vs. Winnipeg
New York Islanders: Friday, Oct. 9 vs. Chicago
New York Rangers: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Columbus
Ottawa Senators: Sunday, Oct. 11 vs. Montreal
Philadelphia Flyers: Monday, Oct. 12 vs. Florida
Pittsburgh Penguins: Tuesday, Oct. 13 vs. Montreal
San Jose Sharks: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Anaheim
St. Louis Blues: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Edmonton
Tampa Bay Lightning: Thursday, Oct. 8 vs. Philadelphia
Toronto Maple Leafs: Wednesday, Oct. 7 vs. Montreal
Vancouver Canucks: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Calgary
Washington Capitals: Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. New Jersey
Winnipeg Jets: Friday, Oct. 16 vs. Calgary
Ein kracher ist natürlich, das Babcok im sein 2. Spiel als Headcoach der Maple Leafs gleich nach Detroit muss.
Zudem gibt es auch einige Regeländerungen: Die Overtime wird nun im 3vs.3-Modus gespielt. Das Format wurde letztes Jahr bereits in einer etwas anderen Art und Weise in der AHL getestet:
ZitatAs confirmed during yesterday’s GM meetings, the new overtime rules will see teams play three aside for the entire five-minute overtime session, rather than utilize what the American Hockey League did last season — begin at 4-on-4, before eventually going down to 3-on-3 if there were no goals scored through the first three minutes.
Weiterhin wird auch eine Coaches-Challenge eingeführt:
ZitatThe coach’s challenge, meanwhile, will be somewhat limited in scope during its inaugural campaign. As mentioned above, it can only be utilized on plays that may have potentially been offside, or ones involving goalie interference.
Zu guter Letzt gibt es auch Neuigkeiten zum Thema Expansion: Got $500 million? NHL to begin ‘formal expansion review process’
Ach wär das schön, wenn Seattle endlich auch ein NHL-Team bekommen würde.