ST. PAUL, Minn. (KWAD) — The Minnesota Wild unveiled their full 2025-26 NHL regular season schedule on Wednesday, highlighting key matchups, a lengthy Olympic break, and the first regular season game at their newly renamed home, Grand Casino Arena.
The Wild will open the season with a six-game preseason slate before officially dropping the puck on the regular season October 9 on the road in St. Louis. Two nights later, they’ll return to Saint Paul to host the Columbus Blue Jackets in their home opener on Saturday, October 11, which also marks their first official game inside Grand Casino Arena, formerly known as Xcel Energy Center.
In divisional play, the Wild will face Central Division rivals Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Nashville, and Winnipeg four times each, accounting for 20 games. They’ll play three games against the remaining two Central teams and will meet all Pacific Division opponents three times each (30 games). As usual, Minnesota will face all 16 Eastern Conference teams twice — once at home and once on the road — for a total of 32 games.
Fans will enjoy a stretch of home games early in the season, with the team’s longest homestand — six games — running from October 25 through November 4. In fact, November features nine home games, the most of any month on the schedule.
The Wild’s longest road trip of the season is a seven-game trek from December 27 to January 8, beginning in Winnipeg before heading west for six games in the Pacific time zone.
In a nod to international hockey, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will pause NHL play from February 4 to February 26. Several Wild players are expected to represent their respective countries during the break.
Of the team’s 41 home games, 19 fall on weekends — either a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday — offering plenty of prime-time opportunities for fans in greater Minnesota to head down for a game. Additionally, 12 games this season, including four at home, will begin before 5 p.m.
Fun home matchups include:
- Playoff rematch with Vegas on Sunday November 16th
- Alex Ovechkin’s final regular season game in Minnesota on Tuesday December 16th
- Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday December 20th
- Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday January 24th
The full month-by-month breakdown is available now on the Wild’s official website.