September arrived a little late in this corner of the internet, but the NHL calendar is finally starting to wake up with it. The month brings the familiar shift into hockey mode for a lot of people - kids heading back to school, routines changing, and the league’s quiet stretch giving way to real activity.
For the Bruins, the clock is already ticking toward Opening Night on September 29. That leaves just over three weeks before the season begins, and plenty has to happen before then.
Rookie Camp gets things moving on September 11. This year’s camp will feature the two prospect games against the Buffalo Sabres, rather than the more tournament-style Prospects Challenge used in recent years. A Rookie Camp roster should be out within a few days.
From there, regular training camp opens two weeks from yesterday, on Wednesday, September 16. The first preseason game follows quickly after that, with Boston hosting the Washington Capitals on September 20, just two weeks from Sunday.
It’s that time of year when the schedule starts piling up fast after a long summer, and soon enough everyone will be back to debating the bottom-six line combinations.
Elsewhere around the league, the streaming landscape keeps shifting. On Wednesday, the NHL announced that Prime Video will be the exclusive in-market streaming service for six teams this season: Carolina, Anaheim, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, and St. Louis.
Each of those clubs is taking a different approach to how games will actually be shown, and that makes the whole setup messy. Some teams will still air on cable as well, while others won’t, which only adds to the confusion.
For Bruins fans, though, the situation is still relatively stable. NESN has its issues, and the cost of following every game can still be a headache, but Boston has largely been spared the regional sports network chaos that has hit other fanbases.
Diamond Sports, FanDuel Sports Network, and others have run into major trouble in recent years, while NESN has kept moving along. There’s also growing talk around the league about more teams eventually shifting to centralized streaming models with NHL production involved, but that doesn’t seem likely to change much in Boston anytime soon. With Delaware North part-owning NESN, the local setup looks pretty firmly in place.
In Other News...
Gronkowskis Old Aaron Hernandez Story Has Patriots Fans Reeling
Rob Gronkowskis recollection of Aaron Hernandez has put a darker chapter of Patriots history back in the spotlight. Hernandez was once a major part of New Englands offense, but his career ended in tragedy after his 2015 murder conviction and his death by suicide in prison in 2017. Even years later, anything tied to his time in Foxborough still carries weight, especially for fans who remember how promising that partnership once looked on the field.
Gronkowski described Hernandezs behavior in team meetings as unpredictable, a detail that fits the uneasy way people often talk about those final Patriots seasons now. Hernandez had also been acquitted in a separate double homicide case before his death, adding another layer to an already complicated and unsettling story. It is the kind of old recollection that does not just revive memories of a former teammate, it reopens questions about how much was hiding in plain sight. [Read more 🡒]
Gronkowski Revived A Disturbing Patriots Story Fans Wont Forget
The Patriots Aaron Hernandez chapter has never really faded, and Rob Gronkowski has now pushed it back into the conversation by revisiting just how unsettling things could feel around his former teammate. Hernandez arrived in New England as a talented young player and quickly became part of a high-powered offense, but his football story was eventually swallowed by the murder case that led to his release and, later, a prison conviction that stunned the sport.
Gronkowskis remarks centered on Hernandezs unpredictable behavior during their time together, including one moment in team meetings that stood out even then. For Patriots fans, the uneasy part is not just the criminal case itself, but how much of the warning sign chatter around Hernandez was happening before everything unraveled, leaving a memory the franchise has never quite been able to shake. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Backfield Just Got More Interesting Behind Rhamondre Stevenson
The Patriots backfield already had a clear headliner in Rhamondre Stevenson, but the Week 1 picture is changing around him. Treveyon Henderson is sidelined with an ankle injury, which opens the door for Corey Kiner to see a bigger role right away and gives New England a little more to sort through behind its starter.
It also adds another layer to a group that was already worth watching because of how much responsibility Stevenson is expected to carry. With Henderson unavailable, the early snaps and touches behind him become more important, and the Patriots will have a chance to see whether Kiner can turn this opening into something more lasting once the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]