For the Colorado Avalanche, the wait for meaningful hockey is almost over.
The NHL has unveiled its 2026 preseason schedule, giving Colorado a four-game tune-up before the games begin to count. With the Avalanche coming off another season of high expectations, the preseason will offer the first real glimpse at a roster looking to make another run at the Stanley Cup.
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Colorado will open its exhibition slate at home on Sunday, Sept. 20, welcoming the Utah Mammoth to Ball Arena for a 5 p.m. MT puck drop. The Avalanche will then hit the road the following night, traveling north to take on the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, Sept. 21.
After a few days off, Colorado will return home on Friday, Sept. 25, for another matchup with Winnipeg. The Avalanche will then close out the preseason the next night in Utah on Saturday, Sept. 26.
The condensed exhibition schedule is a change across the NHL this season. The league will play just 65 preseason games over eight days, with contests taking place at 36 NHL and neutral-site venues. The shorter preseason is part of the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA, which clears the way for the regular season to expand from 82 games to 84.
For the Avalanche, though, the preseason will be about much more than simply getting through four games.
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It will give head coach Jared Bednar and his staff an opportunity to evaluate younger players, sort out the final pieces of the roster and determine which combinations could give Colorado its best chance when the games start counting. It will also mark the first opportunity for fans to see the team’s offseason changes in game action.
Colorado won’t have to wait long after the preseason finale for the real test.
The Avalanche will open the 2026-27 regular season at Ball Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 30, against the Los Angeles Kings. The matchup will be part of TNT’s opening-night doubleheader, with the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Philadelphia Flyers at 5:30 p.m. MT before Colorado and Los Angeles take the ice at 8 p.m. MT.
After months of offseason moves, speculation and anticipation, the Avalanche finally have their roadmap back to meaningful hockey.
And the road starts at Ball Arena on Sept. 20.
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