The Ducks’ 2026-27 schedule is out, and with the NHL stretching the regular season to 84 games, there are plenty of nights worth circling. But a handful of matchups stand out right away - some because of old faces, some because of fresh drama, and some because they should tell us plenty about where Anaheim really sits.
The season opens with a sharp one. On Oct. 2 and again on Oct. 7, the Ducks get back-to-back looks at the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, two teams they already know well after beating Edmonton in six games and then falling to Vegas in six.
Those rematches come after both clubs spent the summer reshaping their rosters. Edmonton brought in 2026 Stanley Cup champion Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi, shipped Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks, and signed Ryan Shea in free agency.
Vegas, meanwhile, moved on from John Tortorella, installed Ryan Craig behind the bench, cleared cap room to re-sign Rasmus Andersson, and did it by trading Pavel Dorofeyev, Keegan Kolesar and Kaedan Korczak. With Connor McDavid’s two-year extension now kicking in, the Oilers’ window may be getting tighter.
The Golden Knights, though, still look built to hang around the top of the Pacific.
Then there’s the home opener on Oct. 4 against the Florida Panthers, which brings former Ducks captain Radko Gudas back to Honda Center. Gudas spent three seasons in Anaheim and wore the “C” for the last two.
Florida also added Brady Tkachuk, who joins his brother Matthew, and the roster already includes Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett. That’s a nasty combination for any opponent.
The game will also be the first time A.J. Greer faces his old team.
Greer spent the last two seasons with the Panthers, won the Stanley Cup with them in 2025, and came to Anaheim after his signing rights were swapped for Gudas’ signing rights before he signed a four-year, $17 million contract.
A few weeks later, the Ducks head to Philadelphia on Oct. 24 for a matchup that still has plenty of buzz attached to it. The Flyers’ five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson was one of the summer’s biggest stories, and Anaheim matched it six days after it was tendered.
That move made it clear Danny Brière wasn’t afraid to swing big. It also adds another layer to a relationship that has already been busy, thanks to the Cutter Gauthier-Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras-Ryan Poehling trades.
The crowd reaction in Philadelphia should be worth watching all by itself.
Jan. 14 brings another reunion, this one with Mason McTavish. Pat Verbeek traded McTavish to the St.
Louis Blues this summer for the 15th overall and 29th overall picks in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, and those selections became Nikita Klepov and Marcus Nordmark. McTavish had a rough 2025-26 season, with contract talks dragging into training camp and inconsistency taking over in the second half.
He was even healthy scratched for a pair of playoff games. Now he gets a chance to reset with the Blues, though his position there - center or winger - is still unclear.
That game also brings Ross Johnston and Greg Cronin back to Honda Center. Johnston played three seasons with the Ducks after being claimed off waivers from the New York Islanders in 2023 and posted a career-high 14 points in 2025-26.
Cronin, who joined the Blues this summer as an assistant coach, was Anaheim’s head coach from 2023-2025, his first NHL head coaching job. The Ducks went 62-87-15 during his time behind the bench.
Finally, there’s Nov. 25 against the San Jose Sharks and Macklin Celebrini. The summer conversation around the league has centered on players like Carlsson, Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, but Celebrini is now eligible for an extension after July 1.
Carlsson’s massive offer sheet has already changed the market, and Celebrini is expected to command a major payday of his own. There have also been rumors that he could be the Sharks’ next captain.
If that long-term extension comes with a captaincy announcement, that’s the kind of moment that gets everyone’s attention. Anaheim will see plenty of Celebrini either way - the Ducks and Sharks are set to meet three or four times a season, and San Jose looks like a team they may be chasing for a playoff spot in the years ahead.
In Other News...
Trevor Zegras Just Reopened A Painful Ducks Debate
Trevor Zegras is back in the conversation around Anaheim in a way that probably feels familiar, and not entirely comfortable. The Ducks already had to deal with the ripple effect of Philadelphias offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, and now Zegras new Flyers contract is forcing another look at how much talent the organization let walk, how much it believed in its own core, and how the rising salary cap keeps changing the price of patience.
Zegras deal also sharpens the debate because it sits in a world where top-end money is getting easier to spend, even on players who still come with real questions. He followed two rough seasons in Anaheim with a much better first year in Philadelphia, but the concerns that shadowed him with the Ducks have not disappeared, especially when it comes to his all-around impact and his ability to drive games at five-on-five. For a player whose shootout skill helped push the Flyers back toward the playoffs, the upside is obvious, and so is the reason Anaheim fans may still be wondering what exactly got away. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Could Get Pulled Into An Unsettling Rangers Rumor
The Rangers search for forward depth has a way of pulling other teams into the conversation, and Anaheim is no exception. New York is reportedly exploring a range of options this offseason as it looks for help up front, whether that comes through trades or signings, and that kind of shopping list naturally sends people scanning for players who can fit in more than one role.
For the Ducks, Frank Vatrano is the name that stands out as the kind of lower-cost piece that could make sense in that market. He has a track record of producing alongside Mika Zibanejad, which gives him a built-in appeal if the Rangers decide they need a familiar scoring option rather than a bigger splash, even as Anaheim keeps its own roster picture in view. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Zegras Is Officially Settled In Philadelphia Now
Trevor Zegras is no longer in limbo, and Philadelphia finally has the kind of long-term answer it was waiting for after bringing him in as a restricted free agent this offseason. The Flyers locked up the 25-year-old forward on a four-year deal with an average annual value of $9.125 million, ending a process that had already reached the arbitration stage and giving the club a clearer picture of its core heading into the next phase.
For the Flyers, the timing matters almost as much as the contract itself. Zegras arrives off a career-best season that reinforced why the front office sees him as more than just a skilled addition, and general manager Daniel Briere made it clear the organization believes the winger can be part of the push to the next level. Now the focus shifts from paperwork to production, with Philadelphia expecting the kind of impact that justified the investment in the first place. [Read more 🡒]