Best Time to Buy NHL Tickets: Timing Rules for the 2026-27 Season

Check today’s get-in prices for every NHL game on TicketScanner’s NHL page

Why this guide is built differently

TicketScanner records the get-in price (the cheapest listed seat) for every game across the major resale marketplaces, once a day. For the NHL, the 2026-27 season opens Sept. 29, and the daily log starts filling in from there.

So this article has three layers. First, what outside sources consistently report about NHL price behavior. Second, the one hard timing curve we do have, from MLB, clearly labeled as such. Third, a 2026-27 calendar and today’s starting prices, so you can act on the pattern before the NHL numbers exist.

What is known about NHL ticket price behavior

Weeknight versus weekend

The guides we reviewed point in the same direction. MLV’s NHL buying guide states it plainly: “Friday and Saturday games are the most expensive. Tuesday and Wednesday games are the cheapest.” AmericanArenas says the same in softer language, that “weekday games are often less expensive than weekend matchups.”

None of these sources publishes a percentage for the NHL, so treat the direction as settled and the size as unknown. Our MLB tracking gives a sense of scale in another sport, covered below.

The opponent

Rivalry games carry a premium that MLV’s guide puts at “20-40 percent” over a base ticket, and the same guide says Original Six teams command premiums of their own. Ticketmaster’s NHL buyer guide warns that prices “are not guaranteed to go down as the event approaches,” and names matchup appeal, rivalry games and team performance as the reasons.

The practical version: a Tuesday game against a non-rival is a different product from a Saturday game against a rival, even in the same seat. Timing rules that work for the first can fail for the second.

Canadian markets, plus the Rangers

A Bookies.com study published Oct. 1, 2025 and reported by Heavy found the Maple Leafs had the most expensive cheapest tickets in the league ($380 for a family of four, roughly $95 a seat), with the Rangers second and the Bruins, Oilers and Canadiens rounding out the top five. Six of the 10 most expensive teams in the study were Canadian.

TicketScanner’s pre-season snapshot shows the same top tier but a split inside Canada. Toronto ($150) and Montreal ($152) have the highest median get-in prices in the league as of Aug. 25, 2026, and the Rangers ($120) are third. Calgary ($40), Winnipeg ($44) and Ottawa ($45) sit below the league-wide median of about $50. “Canadian team” is not a price rule on its own. Toronto and Montreal are.

Early season versus the stretch run

MLV’s guide: “October and November games are generally the most affordable regular-season tickets. February and March games, when the playoff race intensifies, command higher prices.” AmericanArenas lists playoff races alongside rivalry games and weekend matchups as the things that push prices up.

The reason is simple. In October, most teams are still in the early stages of the season, and season-ticket holders are unloading weeknight games they cannot attend. By March, the games that matter are obvious, and sellers price accordingly.

Outdoor games

Outdoor games do not follow regular-season timing at all. They go on sale months early, sell as events, and start high. The 2027 Winter Classic (Utah Mammoth vs. Colorado Avalanche, Rice-Eccles Stadium, Dec. 31, 2026) showed a get-in price of $288 and an average listing of about $750 on TickPick as of Aug. 26, 2026, against a $56 median get-in for a regular Avalanche home game and $73 for a Mammoth home game in TicketScanner’s Aug. 25 snapshot. Stadium Series tickets for Stars vs. Golden Knights at AT&T Stadium (Feb. 20, 2027) went on sale May 21, nine months ahead.

Do NHL tickets get cheaper closer to the game?

For an ordinary game, the sources say yes, with a ceiling on how much. TickPick’s April 2026 guide lists the NHL best-buy window as “1-3 days before the game” and describes game-day prices as “generally stable, but can dip for midweek or low-profile games.” MLV’s guide prefers “seven to 14 days before the game” for most matchups and adds that checking resale listings two to four hours before puck drop “can reveal significant discounts.”

For a high-demand game, the same sources caution against waiting. MLV: “Buy 2-3 weeks ahead. Prices do not soften for high-demand games.” Ticketmaster: no guarantee prices fall. If the game is a Saturday rivalry in Toronto, Montreal or New York, the last-minute discount is the exception, not the plan.

What TicketScanner’s MLB tracking shows (MLB data, not NHL)

This is MLB, not hockey, and it is the only timing curve TicketScanner can publish today. Across 456 completed MLB games tracked daily from May 22 to Aug. 25, 2026, the median get-in price was $29 at 31 to 60 days out, $27 at 15 to 30 days, and $24 from 8 to 14 days out. It then stayed at $24 through the final week and on game day. That is a drop of about 17% from the 31-to-60-day window to the final two weeks, and no further drop after that. The 25th percentile slipped only from $16 to $15 in the last stretch. In baseball, at least, patience paid until two weeks out and then stopped paying. We will report whether the NHL curve looks the same once the season’s tracking accumulates.

A practical 2026-27 NHL buying calendar

July to September: schedule release and on-sales

The NHL released the 1,344-game, 84-game-per-team 2026-27 schedule on July 16, 2026. Single-game on-sales are set by each team, and this year they spread across two months: Boston went on sale July 17, Florida on Aug. 13, St. Louis on Aug. 21 (presale Aug. 20 for app and email subscribers, earlier for season-ticket holders), Nashville on Sept. 1 (presales Aug. 24 and Aug. 26), and Montreal on Sept. 14. Most teams run a newsletter or app presale a few days before the public date. Details by team are in /blog/when-do-nhl-tickets-go-on-sale.

The on-sale is the right moment only for a specific goal: a specific seat for a marquee game. If you want the cheapest way in, the on-sale is not the moment. The resale market has been open since the July 16 schedule release, because season-ticket holders list inventory within a day of it, according to TickPick.

Sept. 29 to November: the soft window

Opening night is Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Carolina raising its banner against Florida, Toronto hosting Montreal, and the Rangers at Boston. Home openers price like events. After them, October and November are the months outside sources call the cheapest of the season, and an 84-game schedule is full of midweek dates against out-of-conference opponents.

Two date quirks this year. The Heritage Classic (Jets vs. Canadiens) is Oct. 25 in Winnipeg, and the Global Series takes Carolina and Seattle to Finland on Nov. 12 and 14, and Ottawa and Chicago to Germany on Dec. 18 and 20, which reduces the number of home dates for those teams around those weeks.

December: holiday games and the Winter Classic

The holiday break runs Dec. 23 to 25, and games resume Dec. 26 for the first time since 2015. Treat weekdays in the Dec. 26 to Jan. 3 stretch like weekend dates: schools are out, and family demand fills midweek slates. The Winter Classic is Dec. 31 in Salt Lake City, priced as described above.

February: the All-Star pause and Stadium Series

The schedule pauses Feb. 4 to 7 for All-Star weekend at UBS Arena (skills Feb. 5, game Feb. 6). The Stadium Series is Feb. 20 in Arlington.

March 1 to April 10: the playoff push

The trade deadline is Monday, March 1, 2027, and the regular season ends Saturday, April 10. Once the deadline passes, every team knows whether it is buying or selling, and so do ticket sellers. MLV’s guide says February and March games “command higher prices” as the race intensifies, and AmericanArenas names playoff races as a price driver. For fans of teams that are out of it, the opposite happens, and March weeknights can be the cheapest of the season.

Where the starting prices are today

The table below is the pre-season snapshot from TicketScanner’s daily price tracking on Aug. 25, 2026: the median get-in price across each team’s upcoming home games (31 to 39 games tracked per team), in USD, before fees. Prices move daily and will look different by opening night. The full 32-team table is in /blog/cheapest-nhl-tickets-team-by-team.

Two things stand out. First, the spread inside a team’s schedule is already as wide as the spread between teams: Boston’s cheapest tracked home game is $29 and its priciest is $323, which is the opponent-and-date effect showing up before a puck drops. Second, the league-wide median team get-in is about $50 and the cheapest quartile is under $41, so flexibility on which team to see is worth more than flexibility on date.

Timing rules for 2026-27

1. Decide which kind of game you are buying. Rivalry, weekend, or Toronto, Montreal and the Rangers: buy early, at presale or on-sale if you care about the seat, and do not expect a late drop. Weeknight, non-rival, October or November: wait.
2. Start watching 30 days out. In MLB, the median price moved between the 30-day and 14-day marks, then stopped. Until the NHL numbers exist, use that as the working assumption.
3. Use the 7-to-14-day window as the default buy point for ordinary games, and check again one to three days out only if the listing count is still high.
4. Treat game day as a bonus, not a strategy. The sources say NHL game-day prices are mostly stable, with dips limited to low-profile midweek games.
5. Weight the calendar. October and November before the standings harden; the Dec. 26 to Jan. 3 stretch and the March run-in after the trade deadline are the the higher-demand periods.

What TicketScanner will publish

As the 2026-27 season’s daily tracking accumulates, TicketScanner will publish the NHL version of the curve above: median get-in price by days before the game, by day of the week, and by team, with the sample sizes attached. The first read will come once enough games have completed to compare the early window against the final week. Until then, the team pages update every day with the current get-in price for each game.

FAQ

When do NHL tickets get cheaper?

Outside sources agree on the direction: prices for ordinary games ease as the game approaches, and October and November are the cheapest months of the regular season. No published NHL dataset puts a number on it yet. TicketScanner’s MLB tracking (456 games, May 22 to Aug. 25, 2026) saw a median drop of about 17% between 31-60 days out and the final two weeks, then no further decline. NHL data will be published as the season progresses.

Do NHL tickets get cheaper closer to the game?

For low-demand games, yes: TickPick’s guide lists one to three days out as the NHL sweet spot and says game-day prices can dip for midweek or low-profile games. For rivalry games, weekend games, or Toronto, Montreal and Rangers home games, the guides say prices tend to hold or rise, and Ticketmaster states that decreases are not guaranteed.

When is the cheapest time to buy NHL tickets?

The cheapest combination is a weeknight (Tuesday or Wednesday, per MLV) against a non-rival in October or November, bought in the 7-to-14-day window or, if listings are still plentiful, one to three days out. For a fixed budget, the bigger lever is the market: TicketScanner’s Aug. 25, 2026 snapshot shows a median get-in of $25 in Columbus versus $150 in Toronto.

When should I buy NHL tickets for the on-sale versus resale?

Buy at presale or on-sale when you want a specific seat for a marquee date, because that is when selection is best. For price, the guides point later: TickPick lists one to three days out as the NHL window for ordinary games, and MLV prefers seven to 14 days. 2026-27 public on-sales ran from July 17 (Boston) to Sept. 14 (Montreal), with many teams in August.

Is the day of the week a bigger factor than how early I buy?

Based on the available evidence, probably. MLV’s NHL guide puts the rivalry premium at 20-40% and calls weekend games the most expensive without attaching a number, while the only measured timing curve TicketScanner has (MLB) moved about 17% over the whole run-up. Pick the date first, then time the purchase.

Compare get-in prices for every 2026-27 NHL game on TicketScanner’s NHL page

Sources

• https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-announces-2026-27-regular-season-schedule (schedule release July 16, 2026; Sept. 29 opening night; 84 games per team and 1,344 games; regular season ends April 10; All-Star weekend Feb. 5-6; Heritage Classic Oct. 25; Global Series dates; Winter Classic Dec. 31; Stadium Series Feb. 20)
• https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/49376073/nhl-releases-expanded-84-game-schedule-2026-27-season (84-game expansion; key 2026-27 dates)
• https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-announces-home-openers-for-2026-27-season (opening night matchups: Carolina vs. Florida, Toronto vs. Montreal, Rangers vs. Boston)
• https://www.thehockeybeast.com/nhl/when-does-the-nhl-season-start-29-september-and-every-other-key-date/ (holiday break Dec. 23-25, games resume Dec. 26 for the first time since 2015; All-Star break Feb. 4-7)
• https://www.nhlschedule.net/blog/when-does-2026-27-nhl-season-start-end (holiday break Dec. 23-25; All-Star pause Feb. 4-7)
• https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-stats-pack-2026-27-regular-season-schedule (games on Boxing Day, Dec. 26, for the first time since 2015; holiday break Dec. 23-25; All-Star break Feb. 4-7)
• https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2026-27-nhl-trade-deadline-set-monday-march-1-news (trade deadline Monday, March 1, 2027)
• https://www.nhl.com/news/utah-mammoth-colorado-avalanche-2027-winter-classic-set-for-new-years-eve (Winter Classic Dec. 31, 2026, Rice-Eccles Stadium)
• https://www.nhl.com/news/2027-nhl-stadium-series-tickets-go-on-sale-may-21 (Stadium Series Feb. 20, 2027, AT&T Stadium; tickets on sale May 21)
• https://www.tickpick.com/nhl/nhl-winter-classic-tickets/ (2027 Winter Classic get-in $288 and average about $750 on TickPick, viewed Aug. 26, 2026)
• https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/nhl-announces-boston-bruins-2026-27-regular-season-schedule-individual-game-tickets-to-go-on-sale-friday-july-17-at-2-p-m (Bruins on-sale July 17; home opener Sept. 29 vs. Rangers)
• https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/florida-panthers-2026-27-single-game-tickets-go-on-sale-thursday-aug-13-at-10-a-m-et (Panthers on-sale Aug. 13; presale Aug. 12)
• https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/single-game-tickets-on-sale-aug-21 (Blues on-sale Aug. 21; presale Aug. 20)
• https://www.nhl.com/predators/news/nashville-predators-announce-single-game-on-sale-and-theme-nights-for-2026-27-season-2026-08-17 (Predators on-sale Sept. 1; presales Aug. 24 and Aug. 26)
• https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/canadiens-announce-2026-27-special-event-games-aug-18-2026 (Canadiens public on-sale Sept. 14)
• https://blog.ticketmaster.com/nhl-tickets-buyers-guide/ (prices “not guaranteed to go down as the event approaches”; on-sale best for seat selection)
• https://www.tickpick.com/blog/do-ticket-prices-drop-the-day-of-the-game/ (NHL best-buy window 1-3 days out; game-day prices “generally stable, but can dip for midweek or low-profile games”; published April 9, 2026)
• https://mlv.com/blog/nhl-tickets-buying-guide/ (Tuesday/Wednesday cheapest, Friday/Saturday most expensive; rivalry premium 20-40%; October and November most affordable; 7-14 day window; high-demand games climb)
• https://americanarenas.com/sports/nhl/tickets/ (weekday games cheaper; prices rise for rivalry games, weekend matchups, playoff races)
• https://heavy.com/sports/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/maple-leafs-most-expensive-tickets/ (Bookies.com study, Oct. 1, 2025: Maple Leafs most expensive, Rangers second, six of top 10 Canadian, $380 family-of-four cheapest tickets in Toronto)
• https://tiqassist.com/blog/nhl-schedule-release/ (single-game on-sale timing context and schedule release history)
• https://www.tickpick.com/blog/when-do-nhl-tickets-go-on-sale-nhl-schedule-tickets/ (resale listings appear within a day of schedule release as season-ticket holders list inventory)