NHL Network will open its 2026-27 slate with a rebuilt weekday studio rhythm, a refreshed Secaucus set and 20 NHL Network Showcase games on the regular-season calendar. Seattle’s visit to Edmonton on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. ET is set to be the network’s first live game of the season.
Weekday studio slate
E.J. Hradek will anchor NHL Tonight: First Shift at 4 p.m. ET, a one-hour program built around debate, interviews and fan interaction from across the League.
NHL Now follows at 5 p.m. ET, with player interviews, locker-room perspective and a look ahead to that night’s matchups. Its Players Only feature will become a weekly Wednesday program. Mike Rupp, Cory Schneider and Nate Thompson are scheduled to handle the first edition on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
The 7 p.m. ET edition of NHL Tonight enters its 12th year out of Secaucus, New Jersey. The show is moving into a fan-cave-style studio and shifting to a more relaxed on-air presentation, while retaining live game cut-ins and immediate reaction as scoring plays arrive.
Once the final games are in the books, On The Fly will carry the postgame shift with highlights, interviews, analysis and the key moments from around the NHL.
Preview shows set the board
The network’s season buildup begins Monday, Sept. 28, with two one-hour conference previews. Jamison Coyle, Hradek and Rupp will work the Eastern Conference Preview at 6 p.m. ET. Hradek, Tony Luftman and Thompson take over for the Western Conference Preview at 7 p.m. ET.
Top Shelf, a half-hour weekly highlights and recap program, makes its season debut Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. ET.
Broadcaster bench
Coyle, Hradek, Alexa Landestoy, Luftman, Kathryn Tappen, Adnan Virk and Erika Wachter make up the host group. Former NHL coaches Bruce Boudreau and Tony Granato are part of the analyst rotation.
The former-player group combines for more than 225 NHL seasons and 12,000 games played. It includes Brian Boyle, Ken Daneyko, Michael Del Zotto, Jason Demers, Devan Dubnyk, Stu Grimson, Thomas Hickey, Billy Jaffe, Mike Johnson, Steve Konroyd, Bill Lindsay, Pat Maroon, Dave Reid, Rupp, Schneider, Devante Smith-Pelly, Thompson and Kevin Weekes.
Jason Bukala, Sam Cosentino, Mike Kelly and insider Elliotte Friedman will also make regular appearances during the season.
Next puck drop
Live coverage starts Saturday, Oct. 3, when the Seattle Kraken visit the Edmonton Oilers at 7 p.m. ET.
The first of the 20-game NHL Network Showcase schedule follows Sunday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m. ET. Hradek and Weekes will call the Winnipeg Jets-Detroit Red Wings matchup.
