ESPN makes major NHL announcement

The 2024-25 NHL season will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and ESPN has announced a nationally broadcast tripleheader for the day.

The tripleheader begins at 4:30 p.m. ET with the Seattle Kraken hosting the St. Louis Blues. Yes, that is a 1:30 p.m. local start on a Tuesday for Kraken fans and any traveling Blues fans.

The reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers begin their title defense at 7 p.m. ET, hosting the Boston Bruins. The Panthers, who eliminated the Bruins in both the 2023 and 2024 playoffs, will raise their Stanley Cup champions banner before the game.

The tripleheader concludes with the first-ever game for the Utah Hockey Club (formerly the Arizona Coyotes), hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at 10 p.m. ET.

All three games air on ESPN and can be streamed on ESPN+.

ESPN has aired multiple games on the NHL’s Opening Night since regaining the league’s rights three years ago. The network aired doubleheaders in 2021 and 2022 , and expanded that to a tripleheader last year . The 2023 tripleheader also included a game starting early, with Predators-Lightning beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.

After airing the Stanley Cup Final this year, ESPN will be relegated to the bench for the 2024-25 season, with the Final moving back to cable and TNT. This will be the fourth year of the NHL’s seven-year media rights deals with Disney and TNT Sports.

[ ESPN ]

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