How to Watch the NHL Free Or Cheap in 2026-27 (No Cable Needed)
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man
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The 2026-27 NHL season is underway, and the hockey TV schedules are messier than ever. National games are still split between ESPN/ABC and TNT. But local games depend on your team, and several clubs changed channels after FanDuel Sports Network’s parent company shut down. The good news: you do not need a full satellite, cable or live streaming bill to follow hockey. Yes, TV For Seniors is here to tell you how to watch the NHL free or cheap!
How to Watch the NHL Free
ABC Games
ESPN and ABC carry 100 national games this season, but 18 will be on ABC which means you can watch them with a digital antenna, assuming you can pick up your local ABC station. A decent indoor antenna runs $20 to $40 and needs no monthly fee. Point it toward the nearest broadcast towers, run a channel scan, and you are set for those Saturday and special ABC games.
Local Broadcasts
Some local team games are also free over the air. Six clubs put most or all of their non-national local games on free broadcast TV:
– Seattle Kraken
– Vegas Golden Knights
– Nashville Predators
– Utah Mammoth
– Tampa Bay Lightning
– Florida Panthers
The Anaheim Ducks also have about 65 games on local channels, KCOP-13 and FOX 11. The Dallas Stars put a selection of games on local Gray stations. A few other teams air a handful of games free. If you live in one of those markets, an antenna may be all you need for home games that are not on ESPN or TNT.
The National TV Schedule (Not Free)
ESPN and ABC have 100 exclusive regular-season games. Of those, 47 are streaming only on ESPN Select, Disney+, or Hulu. There is no regular TV channel for those 47, even in the two teams’ home cities.
TNT has 72 games, mostly on Wednesday nights, with extras on other nights. Those games also air on truTV and stream on HBO Max. TNT has the exclusive rights to the 2027 Stanley Cup Final so plan on TNT or HBO Max if you want the championship round.
The Cheapest National TV Options
– ESPN Select is $13.99 a month or $139.99 a year. (This is the old ESPN+ under a new name.) It includes the 47 streaming-only national games and NHL Power Play, the out-of-market package with more than 1,000 games. It does not include the linear ESPN channel. Local games and exclusive national games are blacked out. If you follow a team outside your area, this is the best first purchase.
– HBO Max Standard, the cheapest plan that includes live sports on HBO Max, is $18.49 a month. This gets you the TNT and truTV games, including the Stanley Cup Final. You do not need a live streaming bundle just for Wednesday night hockey.
Team Apps For Local Games
A team app is usually about $15 to $30 a month. Most clubs now sell a direct stream. For example, Washington Capitals games that are not national broadcasts are on Monumental Sports Network. Monumental+ is $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year, and it works on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, phones, and a web browser.
Local team broadcasts on Amazon Prime Video are also available in a few markets. In-market Dallas Stars games are included with Prime. Anaheim Ducks local streams are included for Prime members in year one. The Seattle Kraken are also on Prime in market. Carolina, Columbus, Minnesota, and St. Louis sell their new league-produced feeds on Prime for about $19.99 a month or $99.99 for the season.
The Cheapest Pay TV Bundle For National TV Games
If you want ESPN and TNT in one place, Sling Orange is the lowest regular live streaming plan that carries both. It is $45.99 a month and also has ESPN2 and TBS. Sling sells short passes, including a one-day pass, if you only want a single game. It does not include local ABC or most regional sports networks.
DIRECTV’s MySports pack and YouTube TV’s sports plan sometimes open with an introductory price near $45 for the first several months, then rise. Those are worth a look only if a promo is running and you also want other sports.
Don’t Get This If You’re Trying to Save Money
A full live streaming package such as YouTube TV, Hulu Live or Fubo usually runs $65 to $90 or more. You only need one of those if you also want local channels, news, and other networks. For hockey alone, ESPN Select plus HBO Max, or Select plus a team app, is almost always the cheaper option.
NHL Center Ice still exists on DIRECTV satellite. It is an older out-of-market package. But most cord-cutters are better off with NHL Power Play inside ESPN Select.
What About Blackouts?
A blackout means the game is blocked on purpose because someone else has the local rights.
If you buy ESPN Power Play, you will not get your hometown team. Those games belong to the local network. National exclusive games are also blocked on the out-of-market package, because ESPN or TNT already has them.
Your market is based on ZIP code and Internet location, and NHL territories are often larger than the city itself.
What Would The TV Answer Man Do?
If you only want the big national games, use an antenna for ABC and add ESPN Select for the streaming only games. Add HBO Max when TNT has a game you care about, or keep it for the playoffs.
If you follow an out-of-town team. ESPN Select and NHL Power Play will work. But expect your local team, and any exclusive national game, to be blacked out.
If you live in Seattle, Las Vegas, Nashville, Utah, Tampa, or South Florida, try the antenna first. You may not need a subscription for most local games.
Before you subscribe, open the team’s “where to watch” page or the ESPN app and check that night’s game. Channel assignments still shift, and a national exclusive can wipe out the local feed with no warning.
Have a question? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
