Ten teams took the ice Tuesday night as the NHL opened its 2026-27 season, and the return to hockey came with a clear emphasis on style. According to the league, players turned heads in the tunnels before heading to the ice for the first games of the campaign.
Coverage of opening night made a point of the pregame wardrobes, noting that many of the outfits would “make Barry Melrose proud.” The looks arrived as players prepared to begin their quests toward hoisting the Stanley Cup next summer, the coverage added.
The package on opening-night fashion highlighted several matchups, beginning with the meeting between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers. That pairing was listed among the examples illustrating the league-wide attention to tunnel style on the first night.
While the on-ice storylines will dominate headlines as the schedule unfolds, the early-season coverage underscored how presentation off the ice has become part of the opening-night narrative. Teams and players used the occasion to make visual impressions ahead of the competitive stretch.
The NHL’s 2026-27 season opened with both hockey and fashion on display, the league said, as clubs across the schedule began their campaigns and players showcased their pregame looks in tunnels around the circuit.
