The Montreal Canadiens schedule for the 2022-23 season was released yesterday and it comes with a few oddities. There are certain things we have become accustomed to as Habs fans, and this year could be a little different.
First of all, the Canadiens start the season on October 12th. This is great, because it signals that the NHL is getting ever so close to their usual routine of starting in early October. The Stanley Cup was handed out in the final days of June this year, but it led to the NHL Draft and free agency being pushed back.
Usually, the NHL Draft is held around the 20th-26th of June. Instead, it will be…. well, tonight, on July 7th. Free agency has traditionally begun on July 1st, but this year it won’t happen until July 13th. This is, of course, due to Covid shutdowns over the past few years putting everything off its usual routine.
An October 12th start shows the league is so close to being back to normal. The 2021-22 season actually started on October 13th, but it was Covid shutdowns and rescheduling of games that forced the regular season ending to be pushed back to April 30th.
The craziest thing about the Habs schedule next season is they actually start at home! Their first game is at the Bell Centre on October 12th against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The last time the Canadiens played the first game of the season at home was the 2013-14 season. Since 1999, they have only played the first game of the season at home twice! That’s crazy. It really doesn’t mean much, but it is kind of wild.
Another oddity for a Canadian team is that they play an afternoon game in Chicago on the Friday of American Thanksgiving weekend. That’s uhhh, not a holiday in Canada so a lot of us will just have to watch online from work or call in sick. That game is Friday, November 25th at 1:00 PM CST.
The trade deadline hasn’t been announced yet but it is usually the Monday that is six weeks before the end of the season. That would be February 27th and the Canadiens will be flying to San Jose that day to play the Sharks the following night. It seems they are often on a long road trip the day of the trade deadline.
We also see the return of the Super Bowl Weekend games. The Canadiens host the New York Islanders on February 11th and the Edmonton Oilers on Super Bowl Sunday which is February 12th. Both of those games are at 12:30 PM EST.