Adobe NHL deal puts 32 clubs on one marketing system. Fans may get Firefly tools

Adobe said in a press release on 28 September 2026 that it has become the official creative, marketing and AI partner of the NHL. The deal covers the league and its 32 clubs, and starts before the 2026-27 season.

NHL.com, the app and the arena screens run off one platform

The league will use Adobe CX Enterprise, GenStudio, Experience Platform, Journey Optimizer and Express with Firefly. According to Adobe, the aim is to drop market-by-market work and keep one set of content and one view of the fan. That covers NHL.com, the app, social accounts and screens inside the arena. Adobe has been buying its way into this space, and closed the Topaz Labs deal this year.

David Lehanski wants the tools pointed at players and clubs

David Lehanski, the NHL executive vice president for innovation, said Adobe will help “unlock new ways to tell the stories” of players, clubs and moments. Lara Balazs, chief marketing officer at Adobe, said the league will be able to scale content across every channel where fans spend time. Both lines come from the announcement.

The NHL puts its reach at 200 million fans in 147 countries

Adobe gives the league audience as more than 200 million people across 147 countries. It also says more than 20,000 brands use its software for this kind of work. Marketing Dive reported that close to 1.8 million people watched the league for the first time after hockey-themed TV dramas, and that viewing among people aged 18 to 34 rose 30 per cent after the Winter Olympics.

Fans could get Firefly to make their own club posts

Adobe says fans may later get Adobe Express with Firefly to make NHL-themed content for social media. The company has not said when, or what the rules on club marks will be. Sports bodies usually guard their logos closely, so that detail decides how far the idea goes. Other leagues have kept the simpler route and sold the category to a single brand.

Adobe gains a league with 32 in-house marketing teams as one reference client. Agencies working for single clubs lose the part of the job that was making the same asset thirty-two times. The clubs keep the local knowledge, and the tooling moves up to the league.