Blackhawks’ 2026 preseason will feature home-and-home matchups vs. Wild and Blues

The Chicago Blackhawks will begin their 2026 preseason with a set of matchups that is intentionally compact and regional, taking on the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues in a home-and-home with each team for four total games. The pairing gives Chicago two geographic rivals from the same general division of the NHL’s schedule, reducing the variety of opponents but increasing familiarity as teams work through offseason roster-building and evaluation.

According to reporting published July 6, the Blackhawks’ preseason matchups are set for Minnesota and St. Louis, with the structure outlined as home-and-home series. That format matters for coaching staffs and players because it compresses the time between first looks at line combinations, defensive pairings, and goaltending plans. It also provides a quicker “retest” window, where the second game can adjust after seeing how a specific opponent tries to defend and manage minutes.

The context around this slate is that the NHL has trimmed preseason games to four. The Hockey News noted that the league reduced the exhibition schedule in favor of expanding the regular season to 84 games from 82, a shift that leaves teams with less time to experiment across multiple opponents. In practical terms, fewer games generally means fewer chances to use the full range of potential lineups before the season begins, so each preseason meeting carries more weight for final decisions.

Because the exhibition schedule is shorter, the first meeting often becomes the most telling look for who is ready to handle a larger role, even if the games are still primarily about timing and evaluation rather than results. The Hockey News also suggested that the NHL and teams were expected to release more of the season’s full schedule in the weeks ahead, including promotional and related slate information, which could clarify travel, game times, and how the preseason will fit around the end of summer training.

For Chicago, the preseason offers a targeted look at how its developing group measures up against two established teams that routinely emphasize structure and forechecking. Minnesota and St. Louis also bring different roster styles and tactical tendencies, which can be useful for the Blackhawks as they try to sort out defensive assignments and offensive structure against varied systems. The home-and-home against each opponent may also reveal whether Chicago can translate early preseason adjustments into improved execution in the second game.

What to watch next is confirmation of the full dates, venues, and game-day details for the four contests as the NHL’s preseason scheduling materials roll out. As those specifics become public, it will be clearer how teams are likely to distribute playing time across the group and which prospects or roster candidates have the best opportunity to make an early impression before the regular season evaluation period begins. Until then, the key takeaway is the matchup framework itself: Chicago’s 2026 preseason is set, and it is built around two opponents, two venues, and four total games.