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Though the Stanley Cup may still be dented and soaked from the Tampa Bay Lightning s second straight boat parade celebration to close 2020-21, the business of the NHL rolls on.
Not only do the expansion Seattle Kraken now have a coach, a rink and some players on the roster, the league as of Thursday evening has an official schedule of games for the 2021-22 season.
Things will return to something approaching their pre-pandemic normal, with the Canadian teams once again mixing with their American counterparts in the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific Divisions.
The Arizona Coyotes were moved to the Central to allow room for the Kraken in the Pacific, and the league s 32nd team will officially begin play on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas before making its home debut on Oct. 23 against the Vancouver Canucks.
NHL schedule release: Lightning-Penguins, Kraken-Knights Oct. 12
Field Level Media
23 Jul 2021, 09:19 GMT+10
The NHL revealed its schedule for the 2021-22 regular season Thursday evening, highlighted by the introduction of the league s 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken.
The expansion Kraken will make their regular-season debut Oct. 12 by visiting the league s most recent expansion club, the Vegas Golden Knights. Two weeks later, they will open their home digs, Climate Pledge Arena, on Oct. 23 against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Seattle-Vegas game is the nightcap of an opening-night doubleheader Oct. 12 that kicks off when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Pittsburgh Penguins and hang their second straight Stanley Cup banner. Both games will air on ESPN in the U.S., after the league s TV rights for the next seven years were bought up by both ESPN and Turner Sports this summer.