The Blackhawks tried to maximize weekend home games in their 2023-24 schedule, and they succeeded in that quest.
Their slate for next season, unveiled Tuesday, includes 25 of their 41 total home games taking place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — up from 19 last season.
Saturdays are the big difference-maker in that statistic, as the Hawks had historically rarely hosted Saturday games. Next season, they’ll host seven, including the home opener Oct. 21 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights — more than doubling last season’s total of three.
The 25 weekend games are the Hawks’ most since 2008-09 and their seven Saturday games are their most since 1957-58.
It'll Connor Bedard vs. Sidney Crosby on October 10th.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) June 27, 2023
Blackhawks open the season at the Penguins, starting a five-game trip. Home opener is October 21st against the defending champion Golden Knights.
Hawks' full 2023-24 schedule: pic.twitter.com/1BmE9I5Iiz
“For buildings like ours, where there’s a very healthy concert schedule and another tenant, the [NHL and NBA] have to work together on scheduling, so a lot of things are out of our control,” Hawks business president Jaime Faulkner told the Sun-Times. “But we did partner with the United Center and the Bulls to collaborate and make sure we could get more weekend dates.
“They were terrific partners for us because it doesn’t impact the number of weekend games that [the Bulls] have. There are plenty of Fridays and Saturdays to go around. It was just us putting more emphasis on asking for those games.”
The Hawks heard “loud and clear” through surveys last season that the fan base wanted more weekend games.
They also heard demand for earlier start times for some weekend games, making it easier for families with younger children to attend. And they made that change, too.
The schedule contains seven home matinees starting at 3:30 or earlier, up from just two last season and their most since 2003-04. (They also have five road matinees, up from three last season.) With most Sunday games also starting at 6:00, as usual, only 21 of the 41 home games start at the standard time of 7:30 or later.
“We’re super excited about it,” Faulkner said.
The Hawks’ season opener at the Penguins on Oct. 10 will match No. 1 pick Connor Bedard against Sidney Crosby, one of his most frequent comparisons (and a No. 1 pick himself 18 years ago). The Hawks then visit the Bruins, Canadiens, Maple Leafs and Avalanche through the rest of a season-opening five-game road trip.
Before that, the Hawks’ six-game preseason schedule includes home-and-home sets — as usual — against the Red Wings, Blues and Wild.
The schedule in general is more spaced out, covering 193 days from start to finish compared to 184 days last season. That helps reduce the quantity of back-to-back sets; they have 10, down from 13 last year.
Other than the Oct. 21 home opener, the Hawks are also marketing as marquee games their matchups on Nov. 24 against the Maple Leafs (Black Friday), Dec. 22 against the Canadiens (Friday before Christmas), March 15 and 17 against the Kings and Sharks (St. Patrick’s Day weekend) and April 14 against the Hurricanes (home finale). The schedule then concludes with a two-game road trip against the Knights and Kings.
The February schedule is interesting with nine of 10 total games taking place at home. A Feb. 19 visit to the Hurricanes marks the only time the Hawks will leave all month while the Wild, Rangers, Canucks, Penguins, Senators, Flyers, Jets, Red Wings and Avalanche all swing through Chicago.
“In the first version of the schedule...there was not one away game all month, so we thought it was wrong,” Faulkner said. “When we got the revised schedule, we had this one [away] game. That is a lot of [home] games in one month. But we typically do really well in February. Football is over, and we tend to have really good attendance and demand.”
Of note competitively, the Wild and Coyotes are the two Central Division teams the Hawks will face only three times next season (compared to four meetings with everyone else).
