Teams around the NHL released their 2026-27 schedules today, which gives us our first glimpse at the new 84-game calendar. The Blue Jackets will get things started on October 1st, at home against the Buffalo Sabres.
They will finish up on Long Island on April 10th, cramming 84 games into a 191 day stretch. While this won't be the gauntlet that they have faced in recent years, this is still a schedule chock-full of challenges. Here are the five that stood out the most to us.
They have 13 back-to-back starts, but two are really tough.
The Blue Jackets will play games on back-to-back days on 13 different occasions this year. That starts with the third and fourth games of the season, where they will host the Pittsburgh Penguins (October 9th), then play the Blues in St Louis the next night.
That's a tall task, but not nearly as difficult as two others that we have circled. On October 17th, the Jackets will face the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. That's a Saturday night, against a team where the emotions are typically very high. Should be a fun one.
But, they have to hit the road right after that game, for a start against the Wild in Minnesota, just 23 hours after the puck drops for that game against the Rangers. This gives the Jackets a really difficult early season test, against two teams that should give them all they can handle.
The next toughest such occurrence comes in January. The Jackets will be in Western Canada, taking on the Oilers on January 15th-then playing the very next night in Vancouver. Fortunately, they get a day off before taking on the Kraken in Seattle. Why wasn't Vancouver-Seattle the back-to-back start?
Two tough 4-game road trips.
The longest road trip the Jackets have all season is four games, something they will have to weed through on four different occasions. But two of these are absolute gauntlets, which will be a big ask. And, it doesn't include that trip we just mentioned through Western Canada.
First up, look at the trip they take from November 30 through December 7. At Pittsburgh, Carolina, Nashville, and Tampa Bay. Ouch.
Historically, the Blue Jackets have struggled against these teams, especially on the road. At PPG Paints Arena (Pittsburgh), they are 6-15-5 (.327), in the Lenovo Center (Carolina), they are 13-18-3 (.426). In Nashville, they are 9-37-1-7 (.241); and in Tampa Bay, they are 6-17-4 (.296). Getting 4-5 points from that trip looks daunting, but very important.
But, they also have one that is arguably more difficult from February 13-18. They go to Boston, then two nights later play in Colorado, then finish up with a Utah/Vegas back-to-back. That looks scary, especially considering the time of year that it takes place.
The grueling 10-game stretch that could bury them, or vault them up the standings.
Finally, there is a 10-game stretch of hockey that will make or break their entire season. I'm talking about the brutal stretch of opponents they're stacked up against from October 24, through November 14.
They begin that stretch at home against Vegas. Then, they travel to Philadelphia, Carolina, and Dallas for three games in five nights. They return home to face Colorado, then Dallas, before a start the next night in Buffalo. Their reward? A three game homestand against Florida, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia.
Those teams went a combined 380-198-78 last season, averaging 105 points apiece. That total is actually dragged down by the two-time Cup winning Panthers, who went 40-38-4 (84 points). They are expected to return as the best team in the NHL next season.
This part of the schedule takes them right near Thanksgiving, which is traditionally when the playoff teams begin to separate themselves from the pack. If the Blue Jackets can't pull 12 or more points from these 10 games, they may find themselves cooked before they enjoy their turkey.
The Blue Jackets do have the benefit of starting 7 of their first 9 games at home this year, which might give them enough of a boost to be competitive. Every team in the league faces tough stretches in their schedule. The key is finding ways to get points more often than not.
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