How to Watch the NHL: 2026-27

Twelve dollars and ninety-nine cents. That is what ESPN+ costs, and it is the single most useful number for anyone trying to figure out how to watch the NHL in 2026-27 without paying for a full cable package. But here is the catch that trips up every cord-cutter: that $12.99 gets you 1,050-plus out-of-market games and zero games involving your own local team. The NHL's national rights are split across two media giants plus a streaming pass, and no single subscription shows you everything. Sort out which remote does what, and the whole season opens up.

This guide breaks down every channel, every streaming option, the free routes, the blackout traps, and the Canada picture, so you walk into opening night in late September knowing exactly where each game lives.

1. The Three-Remote Season: how the rights split

2. How to watch in the United States

3. How to watch without cable

4. Blackouts and the out-of-market trap

5. What is worth watching this season

6. How to watch in Canada

ESPN+ is the cheapest way to watch almost every team except the one you actually root for, which is the first clue that watching the NHL takes more than one remote.

Key Takeaways

• The Three-Remote Season: US national games are split across the ESPN family (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, Hulu), the Turner family (TNT, TBS, truTV, HBO Max), and an out-of-market pass on ESPN+.

• Cheapest all-in-one: ESPN+ is $12.99/month and carries 1,050-plus out-of-market games, but in-market team games are blacked out.

• Free hockey exists: every NHL game on ABC can be watched free over the air with a digital antenna.

• Cut the cord cleanly: Sling, Fubo, or YouTube TV carry ESPN and TNT; pair one with ESPN+ and you reach nearly every game.

• Canada is simpler: Sportsnet carries the bulk, CBC simulcasts select games, TVA Sports has French coverage, and Sportsnet+ streams it all.

The Three-Remote Season: How the Rights Split

The reason watching the NHL feels confusing is that two different companies own the national TV rights, and a third path covers everything else. Disney runs the ESPN side, which means ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and streaming on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+. Warner Bros. Discovery runs the Turner side, which means TNT, TBS, truTV, and streaming on HBO Max. NHL Network sits alongside both. That split is by design, and the league has said so since the deal was signed.

"We are thrilled that this new partnership will provide our fans with the content they love on the platforms and devices of their choice." — Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner, via CNBC (April 27, 2021)

That phrase, "platforms and devices of their choice," is the polite version of what fans actually experience: the games are scattered, on purpose, to push you toward streaming. ESPN was just as direct about why it wanted hockey in the first place.

"We know the power of the NHL and are thrilled to welcome it back as a significant new pillar across our platforms, and we look forward to connecting more deeply and directly with some of the sports world's most passionate fans." — Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN Chairman, via NHL.com (2026)

Three buckets, then: ESPN's, Turner's, and the out-of-market pass. Once you know which one a given game lives in, the rest is just picking the cheapest door. And there is a lot of hockey to find this year, because the regular season expands to 84 games in our 84-game season breakdown. If the draft is what you want first, we covered how to watch the 2026 NHL Draft in its own guide.

How to Watch in the United States

Here is the full US map, network by network: national games run on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, and NHL Network, with the matching streaming homes on ESPN+, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max. The Stanley Cup Final rotates between ABC and TNT, and this season's Final airs on TNT, with ABC holding 2026 and 2028. For the postseason specifically, our playoff schedule and TV guide breaks down every round and channel.

The cleanest cable-replacement combo is one live-TV streamer for ESPN and TNT, plus ESPN+ for the out-of-market slate. That pairing reaches almost every nationally available game without a cable box. The lone gap is your own local team, which I will get to.

How to Watch Without Cable

You have four realistic cord-cutter routes, and the right one depends on how much you care about your local team versus the league at large.

The budget route is ESPN+ alone at $12.99 a month. It carries the 1,050-plus out-of-market games and ESPN's national streams, which is plenty if you follow the sport broadly or root for a team that plays in a different market than where you live. The free route is a digital antenna for ABC, which airs the biggest national windows and Cup Final games at no cost. And the full route is a live-TV service: Sling Orange runs $45.99 a month with ESPN and TNT, and its Sports Extra add-on at $11 tacks on NHL Network, while Fubo and YouTube TV carry ESPN and ABC with NHL Network as an add-on. Pair any of those with ESPN+ and you have a near-complete picture.

One more wrinkle for phone-first fans: the ESPN app and the NHL app both stream whatever your subscription already entitles you to, so you are not chained to a TV. And if you want a no-contract option, YouTube TV and DIRECTV Stream both carry ESPN, ABC, and TNT in their base tiers, which means one of those services plus ESPN+ covers the national slate without juggling add-ons.

My honest take: most fans overpay here. If you mainly watch one team, the answer is almost never ESPN+, it is whatever local route carries that team. If you watch the whole league, ESPN+ plus an antenna covers a shocking amount for under fifteen bucks. Figure out which fan you are first, then buy.

Blackouts and the Out-of-Market Trap

This is the part that makes people angry, so know it before you pay. ESPN+ and its NHL Power Play package only stream out-of-market games. Your local team's games are blacked out on it, because those rights belong to a regional sports network or a national window. So a Bruins fan living in Boston cannot lean on ESPN+ for most Bruins games, while a Bruins fan living in Phoenix can watch nearly all of them.

The workaround is not a VPN, despite what sketchy sites claim. The real fix is matching your team to its actual carrier: a regional sports network through a live-TV streamer, a national ESPN or TNT window, or the team's own authenticated stream where one exists. It is the single most common mistake new cord-cutters make, and it is why a $12.99 subscription leaves so many fans staring at a blackout screen on opening night.

What Is Worth Watching This Season

Once the channels are sorted, here is where to point them. The headline is the rookie: Toronto won the lottery and is expected to debut Gavin McKenna, the most hyped prospect since Connor McDavid, so his nationally televised games belong on every must-watch list. Beyond him, the deeper 2026 draft class starts feeding the league, and the new 84-game format hands every team a fourth meeting with each division rival, which loads the calendar with grudge-match nights.

For the bigger picture, the offseason reshuffled contenders and cap sheets across the league. Our Need-Fit Map shows which teams patched their holes, and the 82-Game Mirage is a useful reminder that a hot regular season does not always survive April. Three outdoor games dot the schedule too: a Heritage Classic in late October, a Winter Classic on New Year's Eve, and a Stadium Series in February.

How to Watch in Canada

Canada is far simpler than the US, and it stays that way under the new national deal. Sportsnet carries the bulk of the schedule in English, CBC simulcasts select national broadcasts, and TVA Sports holds the French-language rights. For streaming, Sportsnet+ runs the whole thing: national games on the standard tier and out-of-market games on the premium tier.

For most Canadian fans, one Sportsnet+ subscription is the entire answer, with CBC available free over the air for the games it simulcasts. The French side lives on TVA Sports. There is no three-remote scramble north of the border, just one main app and a free broadcast fallback. For the cap and roster stories every Canadian market is tracking into the season, our War Chest Index and 2026 free-agent board set the table, and every move lands on our live trade board.

Written by Mike Johnson, NHL Senior Editor, 15 years covering the league and its broadcast deals. US and Canada rights, the ESPN and Turner platform split, ESPN+ pricing and the 1,050-plus out-of-market count, and the blackout rules were checked against NHL.com, ESPN, and CNBC, with the Bettman and Pitaro quotes verbatim from CNBC and NHL.com with inline source links; streaming-service prices can change, so confirm at signup. The Three-Remote Season is our shorthand for the US rights splitting across ESPN, Turner, and an out-of-market pass. Published June 14, 2026. Editorial review: James Wright, Senior Editor. Corrections: editorial@nhltraderumorstalk.com.

Sources and Reporting

• NHL.com: official how-to-watch and streaming hub

• NHL.com: ESPN/Disney rights deal, Pitaro quote

• ESPN: Turner deal, 72 games, Cup Final rotation

• ESPN+: $12.99 price, 1,050+ out-of-market games, blackout rules

• CNBC: rights-deal terms, Bettman quote

• Fubo: live-TV streaming channel lineup

• Wikipedia: 2026-27 season broadcast summary

The Verdict: The Three-Remote Season

Watching the NHL in 2026-27 is not hard once you stop hunting for one magic subscription that does not exist. Decide which fan you are. If you follow the whole league, start with ESPN+ at $12.99 and an antenna for ABC, then add a live-TV streamer only if you need TNT nights. If you live and die with one team, skip ESPN+ and buy whatever carries that team locally, because the blackout will burn you otherwise. The Three-Remote Season sounds like a hassle, and it is, but the total bill for near-complete coverage still lands under what a single cable package cost five years ago. Pick your remotes before opening night, not during it.