2024-25 Fantasy Hockey League Schedule Analysis

Preamble:

There are two popular types of fantasy hockey leagues: head-to-head (often abbreviated as “h2h”) and rotisserie (“roto” for short).

As someone who moved from fantasy baseball to fantasy hockey, roto came naturally. It was a season-long tally of all the stats accumulated in each category with little consideration given to matchups. Simply put, the strategy was to roster the best players — easy enough.

But, over the years, h2h has become far more popular. It added an extra layer of challenges; not only did fantasy managers have to acquire the best players, they also had to take in weekly schedules into consideration.

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Everyone knows Connor McDavid would outscore Artemi Panarin if they both played 82 games. But in a weekly matchup, what if McDavid played only two games and Panarin played four? Who would score more points then?

Breaking down the NHL schedule has become very important for this reason in h2h leagues. To get an edge against your opponent, you might want to roster more players on days where the NHL typically has fewer games (Monday, Wednesday, Sunday) than on busier days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday).

A breakdown of each team’s schedule by team will be published soon. Remember to bookmark The Hockey News Fantasy site so you don’t miss it.

Here’s what you need to know.

The 2024-25 season begins on Oct. 4 in Czechia. 

The NHL’s Global Series continues with a back-to-back series featuring the Devils and the Sabres. They will play their games on Friday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. ET and Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. ET. Each team will be designated the home team once.

Set your calendars accordingly. With the Devils and Sabres featuring such high-end talent, it would be a waste to forget the early start times and leave Jack Hughes or Tage Thompson on your bench.

Also note there are actually eight other games scheduled for Oct. 4 and nine games scheduled for Oct. 5. These are all preseason games and do not count, obviously. I feel like the importance of the Global Series and the official start of the regular season gets lost in the shuffle because of this.

That means the most ideal time to conduct your fantasy hockey drafts is the weekend of Sept. 28-29. Stay tuned for team-by-team previews and schedule analysis.

The Global Series continues on Nov. 1 in Finland. 

The Stars and Panthers will travel to Finland their play a back-to-back series in Finland. The games will be played on Friday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. ET and Saturday, Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. ET. Once again, don’t forget to set your rosters for the early starts.

The past two Global Series have all featured sweeps. The Avalanche and Predators swept the Blue Jackets and Sharks, respectively, in 2022, while the Maple Leafs and Senators combined to sweep the Red Wings and Wild in 2023.

My prediction is the Devils-Sabres and Stars-Panthers split their series.

The only day where all 32 teams in action is Tuesday, Oct. 22. 

Once again, I think this is a missed opportunity for the NHL. There should be more days where all 32 teams are in action with staggered starts, including the last day of the regular season. Think of all the drama that could unfold with the tight playoff races. Have teams with no hope of making the playoffs play earlier and leave the teams jostling for playoff positioning for prime time.

However, Nov. 23, Nov. 27, Dec. 14, Jan. 11, and Jan. 18 will feature 15 games.

On these busy days, fantasy managers will be forced to leave good players on the bench. Look for easy matchups and pay attention to injuries, especially in the winter months when injuries pile up.

The 2025 Winter Classic is on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. ET. 

It’s moved from its customary January 1 date, which means the upcoming Winter Classic will actually be played in 2024. This will be the only time where two Winter Classics will be played in a single year.

It is also not the only game on the docket, unlike previous Winter Classics played on Jan. 1; there are 12 other games to be played on Dec. 31, and then the Kings will host the Devils in the lone game on Jan. 1. There is no special occasion; it’s just an ordinary regular-season game. (I think viewership numbers for that game is going to stink, which is a shame because Jack Hughes is very marketable).

No exact reason was given why the date was changed. My own suspicion is that the NHL doesn’t want to compete with the College Football Playoff. The Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowls will be played on Jan. 1.

The Blackhawks will host the Blues in the 2025 Winter Classic.

No games are scheduled between Feb. 10-21, 2025.

The NHL’s new 4 Nations Face-Off featuring Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden will be played between Feb. 12-20. The NHL returns to action Saturday, Feb. 22, with 14 games.

In head-to-head leagues, this likely means the games played on the weekend of Feb. 22 and 23 will be included in the week of Feb. 24-March 2. Yahoo has yet to make any official announcements or decisions as to how the 4 Nations Face-Off will affect the fantasy hockey calendar.

February will feature the fewest games. 

Due to the 4 Nations Face-Off and because February always has the fewest number of days, it will also feature the fewest number of NHL games with 244.

April is the only other month to feature less than 300 games, mainly because the regular season will end on April 17.

Games by month:

October: 334
November:440
December: 428
January: 448
February: 244
March: 468
April: 262

Wednesdays feature the fewest games.

Of the 2,624 games scheduled for the 2024-25 season, Wednesday features the fewest games with only 216, representing just 8.2 percent of all games. This isn’t out of the ordinary, but for fantasy managers, this re-emphasizes the need to have players play on Wednesday to get that extra edge.

The two teams with the most games on Wednesdays: the Kings and Leafs, with 13 each.

And teams with the fewest Wednesday games: Blue Jackets, Lightning, Islanders and Blues play only three times.

Related: Darcy Kuemper is Now a Fantastic Zero-G Option

Saturdays are the busiest.

There are 654 games scheduled for Saturday, representing 25 percent of the entire season. It is the busiest by far; there are three times as many games on Saturdays than Wednesdays, and twice as many than Sundays.

In head-to-head leagues, Saturday is usually your best chance to make up ground that was lost from Monday to Friday. Sundays will present opportunities to catch up and gain that extra edge, but you may not like your options on the waiver wire.

The Kings have the most Saturday games with 25, while the Ducks have the least with only 11.

Games by weekday:

Monday: 246
Tuesday: 480
Wednesday: 216
Thursday: 488
Friday: 240
Saturday: 654
Sunday: 300

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