Highlights of the 2013

Jarome Iginla, left, will have homecomings in Pittsburgh and Calgary this season. (Photo: Greg M. Cooper, USA TODAY Sports)

Some highlights of the 2013-14 NHL schedule:

Oct. 1: The season opens with the Chicago Blackhawks raising their Stanley Cup banner in a game against the Washington Capitals.

Oct. 3: The Boston Bruins, facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, raise their Eastern Conference championship banner.

Oct. 13: The Ottawa Senators visit the Anaheim Ducks for the first time since they acquired winger Bobby Ryan.

Oct. 30: The Bruins visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in a rematch of the Eastern Conference final won by Boston in a sweep. Jarome Iginla, picked up by the Penguins to a difference-maker in the playoffs, signed with the Bruins on June 5.

Nov. 5: The Dallas Stars will visit the Bruins in the teams' first meeting since Boston dealt Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley for Loui Eriksson and prospects as part of a seven-player trade.

MORE: Eastern Conference schedules

Nov. 7: The Rick Nash trade seems so long ago, but he never had a homecoming because of this season's conference-only schedule. His New York Rangers will visit the Columbus Blue Jackets and the reception likely won't be good because he had requested a trade. The Rangers experienced a dropoff despite the addition of Nash while the Blue Jackets improved to within a tiebreaker of making the playoffs.

Nov. 30: Fired Rangers coach John Tortorella will be behind the Vancouver Canucks bench in his homecoming. The new-look Tortorella was verbose in his opening news conference, so it will be interesting to see how he treats the New York media. Fired Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who's now behind the Rangers bench, will visit Vancouver on April 1.

MORE: Western Conference schedules

Dec. 1: Former longtime Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will return with Detroit. He signed a bonus-laden, one-year deal with the Red Wings last month because he thought they offered him a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup.

Dec. 10: Iginla visits Calgary for the first time since the Flames traded the longtime captain this season.

Dec. 12: Marian Gaborik, dealt by the Rangers to the Blue Jackets at the deadline, makes his homecoming, though it won't be as meaningful with Tortorella gone.

Dec. 19: The Blue Jackets visit the Philadelphia Flyers with Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky likely in net. The Flyers shipped him out before this season because it was going with Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers picked up Steve Mason from the Blue Jackets in March and bought out Bryzgalov.

Jan. 1: The Winter Classic, between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Red Wings in Michigan Stadium, is expected to draw a record crowd.

Jan. 19: The Bruins visit the Blackhawks for a Stanley Cup Final rematch. The teams meet in Boston on March 27.

MORE: NHL players heading to Sochi

Jan. 25: The Stadium Series starts with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium.

Jan. 26, 29: The Rangers play the New Jersey Devils and then the New York Islanders at Yankee Stadium.

Feb. 9-25: The NHL takes a break for the Sochi Olympics. The league resumes play on Feb. 26, two days after the gold medal game.

March 1: The Penguins visit the Blackhawks at Soldier Field.

March 2: The Senators visit the Canucks at BC Place for the Heritage Classic.

March 20: Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise visits New Jersey for the first time since signing a 13-year, $98 million contract last summer.

April 13: The regular season ends with 10 games. The playoffs start on April 16.