Is Alberta about to make Edmonton Oilers start times a little weird? That’s the question hanging over the NHL schedule release, and the answer depends on how the new “Alberta Time” actually gets applied.
The province is done changing clocks twice a year and is moving to permanent Daylight Saving Time. On paper, that sounds simple enough. In practice, it could turn winter hockey nights into a small headache for fans trying to figure out when the puck actually drops.
The Oilers’ schedule already hints at the shift. Several home games are listed at 6 p.m. during the winter months, which would be a welcome early start for some people and a real nuisance for anyone trying to make it from work or through rush-hour traffic. But if those listings are being shown in Mountain Standard Time to account for the change, then local puck drop would actually be an hour later than what appears on the website.
That’s where the Saturday nights get especially strange. The home game against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 7 is listed at 8 p.m.
MST, but under Alberta Time that would mean a 9 p.m. local start. Other games that would land in that later window include Saturday, Nov. 28 vs.
Seattle, 9 p.m. Alberta Time; Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Vegas, 9 p.m.
Alberta Time; Thursday, Jan. 21 at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. Alberta Time; Saturday, Jan. 23 at San Jose, 9 p.m.
Alberta Time; and Saturday, March 6 vs. Chicago, 9 p.m.
Alberta Time. After that date, Alberta Time and Mountain Standard Time would line up again.
This isn’t just an Alberta issue, either. British Columbia has also voted to keep the clocks unchanged, and a bill in the United States is pushing permanent DST as well.
The House of Representatives has already voted to enact it, and the proposal now moves to the Senate before needing President Donald Trump’s approval. He appears motivated to stop the clocks from changing.
Ontario, meanwhile, hasn’t gone that far. The province wants to stay aligned with major U.S. cities, which raises the question of whether a U.S. move would push Premier Doug Ford toward something similar. If the time differences keep multiplying, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman may have more than a few start-time wrinkles to sort out.
“We’ll deal with it,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. “It may impact some start times in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver…But we’ll deal with it just as we deal with whatever things come our way that we don’t get to control.”
The Oilers have already flagged the issue from the fan side. In a June CBC article, Oilers President and Chief Revenue Officer Stew MacDonald said in an email, “Ensuring hockey games remain accessible for fans in Oil Country is our priority,” said Oilers President and Chief Revenue Officer Stew MacDonald in an email to CBC. “And any shift that results in later game start times is a concern - particularly as it creates challenges for families and young fans attending games or watching live broadcasts.”
Connor Bedard also landed in the news with a new deal, as his $15 million per year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks became official on Saturday. It’s not a shocking number, but Leo Carlsson’s reset makes Bedard look like a bargain in comparison, even though $15 million still ranks as the third-highest average annual value next season.
Chicago was always going to pay him. What stands out more is that the Blackhawks still haven’t found a real impact forward to put beside him.
Before Bedard got hurt on Dec. 12 last season, the Blackhawks were 13-12-6 and he was building a case for Team Canada consideration. He had 19 goals and 44 points in 31 games at that point, and he finished with 30 goals and 75 points in 69 games despite ending the year on a 10-game goalless drought.
He just turned 21, and the upside is still obvious if he can stay healthy. Macklin Celebrini has passed him in some eyes, and Carlsson had a strong year too, but Bedard still looks like the better bet - especially at that price.
There was also a notable coaching move in junior hockey circles. Ryan Papaioannou, the former Brooks Bandits head coach, is now running the bench for the Abbotsford Canucks.
Papaioannou, known as “Papi,” spent years building the Bandits into a powerhouse. He helped deliver eight league championships across the AJHL and BCHL, along with four RBC Cups/Centennial Cups as national junior A champions. He was a hard figure to pin down for interviews, but there was never any question about the program he built in Brooks.
Last season, with junior hockey changing under the new NCAA rules, the BCHL’s pull as a top NCAA route weakened, and Papaioannou moved to the ECHL. With the Wheeling Nailers, he guided them to their best record in more than 20 years and an Eastern Conference final appearance. Now he’s getting his shot at the AHL level.
The Vancouver Canucks, on the other hand, came out of the coaching search looking bad. According to The Province, Memorial Cup-winning coach Jussi Ahokas turned them down because of money, and he ended up getting paid by the Colorado Eagles instead.
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