Red Wings to Open NHL Preseason Sept. 23

Is it too early to be thinking about the Detroit Red Wings and next season? Not according to the NHL.

Barely a week after the Florida Panthers were winning a second straight Stanley Cup at the expense of the Edmonton Oilers, the league is out with the 2025-26 NHL preseason schedule.

Detroit’s eight-game preseason slate will feature home-and-home dates with four different teams – the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Red Wings will be opening up exhbition season play with a pair of home dates. The Blackhawks are the visitors to Little Caesars Arena on Sept. 23. It’s the Sabres who come to Hockeytown on Sept. 25. Both games are 7 pm starts.

Then the Wings are hitting the road to face off against the Penguins on Sept. 26 and Sabres on Sept. 27. The Pittsburgh game is a 7 pm puck drop. Meanwhile, Buffalo is offering a rarity – an afternoon NHL preseason game. That tilt gets underway at 3 pm.

Coming home, Detroit is playing host to the Penguins at 7 pm on Sept. 29. Two more road games follow. The Red Wings are in Chicago on Sept. 30 at 8 pm.

Finally, it what appears to have become a Red Wings preseason tradition, there’s a home-and-home clash against the Maple Leafs. The two teams are meeting in Toronto on Oct. 2. Then, to close out the exhibition campaign, the Wings will be playing host to the Maple Leafs on Oct. 4. Both games are 7 pm starts.