2017-18 NHL season

The 2017–18 NHL season will be the 101st season of operation (100th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL).

With the addition of a new expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, 31 teams will compete in an 82-game regular season. The regular season will begin on October 4, 2017, and will end on April 7, 2018.

The 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs will then begin a few days afterwards with the Stanley Cup Finals held in early June.

League Business[]

Expansion[]

On June 22, 2016, the NHL confirmed that it had granted an expansion franchise in the city of Las Vegas to an ownership group led by Bill Foley, whose identity was revealed as the Vegas Golden Knights on November 22, 2016.

The team will play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.

Olympics Participation[]

On April 3, 2017, the NHL announced that after five Olympic tournaments in which the NHL allowed its players to participate in the event, it would not interrupt its schedule to accommodate the men's hockey tournament at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Several players have vowed to participate anyway; provided the teams that hold their contracts do not object to each player's participation, the options the league has for stopping players from participating without running afoul of the National Hockey League Players Association are limited and the league has not yet prescribed any potential punishment for such a scenario.

Salary Cap[]

On June 18, 2017, the National Hockey League Players' Association announced that the salary cap would be set at $75 million for the 2017–18 season.

Rule Changes[]

Media Rights[]

This is the seventh season under the current U.S. national television agreement with Comcast to carry the NHL on NBC and NBCSN, as well as the fourth season under the Canadian television deal with Rogers Communications to carry the NHL on Sportsnet and its sublicensing partners.

Centennial Celebration[]

The NHL's centennial commemorations will continue into the 2017–18 season, as its 100th season of play.

On March 17, 2017, the NHL announced that it would hold an outdoor game between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens on December 16, 2017 to mark the 100th anniversary of their inaugural NHL game.

Coaching Changes[]

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team	2016–17 coach	2017–18 coach	Story / Accomplishments
Buffalo Sabres	Dan Bylsma	TBA	On April 20, 2017, the Sabres fired Bylsma after his team finished eighth in the Atlantic Division and failed to contend for the playoffs for the second consecutive season. He led the team to a 33–37–12 record during the 2016–17 season and a 68–73–23 overall record in two full seasons.
Dallas Stars	Lindy Ruff	Ken Hitchcock	On April 9, 2017, the Stars announced that Ruff's contract would not be renewed for the 2017–18 season. Ruff led the team to a 34–37–11 record during the 2016–17 season as the Stars missed the playoffs and a 165–122–41 record since taking over in 2012. On April 13, Hitchcock, most recently with the St. Louis Blues, was named the new head coach. He previously coached the Stars from 1996 to 2002.
Florida Panthers	Gerard Gallant Tom Rowe*	TBA	Gallant, who compiled a record of 11–10–1 for the first part of the season (and a 96–65–25 record over his full 2¼-season tenure with the team, the highest win percentage of any coach in Panthers history), was fired on November 10, 2016. Rowe, the team's general manager, stepped into the position and compiled a 24–26–10 record. Gallant joined the Vegas Golden Knights, while Rowe, despite losing both the head coach and general manager titles, will remain with the Panthers as an advisor.
Los Angeles Kings	Darryl Sutter	John Stevens	On April 10, 2017, the Kings fired Sutter after missing the playoffs for the second time in three years. He led the Kings to two Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014. The Kings finished the season with a record of 39–35–8 and an overall record of 225–147–53 over six seasons with Sutter, which is the most wins for any coach in Kings' history. On April 23, Stevens was named the new head coach. He had been the Kings' assistant coach since 2010 and was also an interim coach for four games during the 2011–12 season.
Vancouver Canucks	Willie Desjardins	TBA	On April 10, 2017, the Canucks fired Desjardins after his team failed to contend for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. He led the team to a 30–43–9 record during the 2016–17 season and a 109–110–27 overall record in three full seasons.
Vegas Golden Knights	Expansion team	Gerard Gallant	On April 13, 2017, the Golden Knights hired Gerard Gallant as the team's first ever head coach.

Arena Changes[]

The Detroit Red Wings will move to Little Caesars Arena, replacing their longtime home, the Joe Louis Arena.
The Vegas Golden Knights will play their inaugural season at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
The Winnipeg Jets home arena was renamed from MTS Centre to Bell MTS Place following Bell Mobility's acquisition of previous rights holders, Manitoba Telecom Services.

Regular Season[]

The regular season will begin on October 4, 2017, and end on April 7, 2018. Each team will receive a five-day "bye week", and all of them will take place in mid-January.

International Games[]

Two regular season games will be played in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series, the league announced on March 24, 2017.

The games will be played between the Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators at the Ericsson Globe on November 10 and 11, 2017. This is the first NHL game to be held outside North America since the 2011 NHL Premiere contest.

Outdoor Games[]

The 100 Classic will be held on December 16, 2017 at TD Place Stadium in Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, featuring the Montreal Canadiens against the Ottawa Senators.
The Winter Classic will be held on January 1, 2018 at Citi Field in Flushing, New York, with the New York Rangers playing the Buffalo Sabres.
The Stadium Series will be held on March 3, 2018 at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, featuring two of last seasons playoff teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals.

All–Star Game[]

The 63rd NHL All-Star Game will be held in Tampa, Florida at Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, on January 28, 2018. The format will not change and will follow the format used in two previous All-Star games.

Statistics[]

Scoring leaders[]

Leading goaltenders[]

Milestones[]

Major milestones reached[]

On October 4, 2017, Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds scored his 400th point.
On October 4, 2017, San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns scored his 500th point.
On October 5, 2017, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp scored his 600th point.

Uniforms[]

Adidas will become the official uniform and apparel provider beginning with the 2017–18 season. As part of the transition from Reebok to Adidas, no third jerseys will be worn this season. The uniforms were unveiled on June 20, 2017.
All jerseys will continue to have patches of the NHL's centennial emblem (located above or below the numbers on their right sleeves) for at least up to the playing of the NHL 100 Classic on December 16, 2017.