Yesterday the National Hockey League (NHL) announced the 2021-22 NHL Pre-Season schedule which is to commence on September 25, 2021, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Montreal Canadiens and the Minnesota Wild visiting the St. Louis Blues. The following night, the Seattle Kraken will host their first-ever NHL game at Spokane Arena when they take on the Vancouver Canucks.
The 15-day pre-season will run through October 9 in front of the regular season which begins on October 12, 2021.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning open their pre-season on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes on September 28. According to CaBets they will begin the season as odds-on favorites to repeat as champions. The Canadian betting site lists the Lightning at +550, followed by the Colorado Avalanche at +600 and the Vegas Golden Knights at +850.
The Seattle Kraken
Preseason tickets for Seattle’s new NHL team went on sale on July 16 and were sold out in less than an hour. According to the team, additional tickets might be made available at a later time, but as of this writing, no more seats are available.
This comes as no surprise. In 2018 the team collected 32,000 deposits for season seats long before the team had a name or a stadium to play. It was that passion for NHL hockey in Seattle that helped the Oak View Group receive approval from the city to build what is now Climate Pledge Arena, and for the NHL to commit to Seattle as an expansion franchise that same year.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the club was forced to cap season tickets as demand continued to grow, limiting the number to 15,000 which all sold out in February of 2020. Climate Pledge Arena seats 17,459 for hockey, and the team expects a waiting list for single-game tickets which are being currently being made available.
The New York Islanders
The Seattle Kraken is not the only team looking to break in a new barn. The New York Islanders will open the 2021-22 season with a long road trip while the final touches are being made at their new arena at Belmont Park. Construction on USB Arena was delayed for two months after New York City put restrictions in place to slow the spread of Coronavirus in March 2020.
The team will play its first 13 games on the road, the longest road trip to start a season in NHL history. Currently, the Islanders’ home opener is scheduled for November 20 against the Calgary Flames, which is over a month after they open against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 14. And that is provided that everything goes as scheduled.
Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello called the arena opening a moving target.
Lamoriello expects #Isles to be on road to start season. Close proximity to other teams will make it less taxing. Has not seen schedule yet. Opening of UBS Arena is moving target.
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) June 29, 2021
The Islanders have built up considerable hype for the opening of their long-awaited new arena, reporting that they have sold out all of their regular season tickets.