The Edmonton Oilers and the Pittsburgh Penguins are set to lead the NHL in travel mileage during the upcoming 2025-26 season. According to Bill Speros from Bookies.com, this finding comes after the NHL released its full season schedule on July 16. Notably, the season will also feature two games as part of the NHL Global Series, where the Penguins will face the Nashville Predators in Stockholm, Sweden this November.
Despite the Oilers’ decision to remain in North America, they will experience significant travel demands, particularly with a challenging stretch of seven away games scheduled within an 11-day window from November 12 to November 22. During this period, the Oilers will visit cities including Philadelphia, Columbus, Carolina, Buffalo, Washington D.C., Tampa, and will conclude their trip with a rematch against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise.
The Oilers are no strangers to extensive travel, having already logged 50,000 miles during the previous 2024-25 season. In contrast, the Penguins will also face a high travel demand, ranking second in total mileage due to their NHL-high 22 distinct road trips this season. This marks a notable increase from last season, where they only traveled 31,700 miles, ranking last in the league.
On the other hand, the New York Islanders will have the least travel mileage, limiting their total to just over 30,000 miles due to their proximity to several other teams in their division. This results in the Islanders completing a significant part of their travel during two seven-game road trips set for November and January.
Additionally, some NHL players will likely face even more travel when the league pauses from February 5 to February 25 for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
The 2025-26 NHL season will kick off with the Panthers raising their second consecutive Stanley Cup banner while taking on Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on October 7.