NHL, NHLPA officially announce agreement for 2020-21 season
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses media. (Bruce Bennett/Getty) | December 20, 2020, 3:37 PM
December 20, 2020, 3:37 PM
The NHL s Board of Governors has approved the agreement between the league and NHLPA for a 56-game 2020-21 season.
The regular season will begin on Jan. 13 and conclude on May 8. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature 16 teams in the traditional best-of-seven, four-round format and wrap up around mid-July. The plan is to return to a “normal” hockey calendar for the 2021-22 season.
“The National Hockey League looks forward to the opening of our 2020-21 season, especially since the Return to Play in 2019-20 was so successful in crowning a Stanley Cup champion,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a press release. “While we are well aware of the challenges ahead, as was the case last spring and summer, we are continuing to prioritize the health and safety of our participants and the comm
NHL and NHLPA reach tentative deal for 56-game regular season
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Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images
According to reports, the NHL and NHLPA have reached a tentative deal on a 56-game 2021 season. The plan remains to begin play on January 13, but that date has not been finalized. Training camps will start on December 31 for the seven teams that did not participate in the playoffs and January 3 for the 24 teams that did. There will be no exhibitions games.
Both the NHL Board of Governors and the players’ association still need to vote to approve the deal before it becomes official. That is expected to happen early next week.
NHL outlines proposed division realignment for 2020-21 season
Tim & Sid pose the question of why the reported All-Canadian division couldn’t be a permanent change to the NHL realignment. | December 9, 2020, 5:25 PM
December 9, 2020, 5:25 PM
It s been assumed for some time that the coming NHL season would include a seven-team Canadian division to eliminate cross-border travel. Speaking on Tuesday, commissioner Gary Bettman all but confirmed that to be the case. There are a lot of things we have to do to return to play. For us to return to play, we re not going to play 82 games, obviously, and we have travel issues because of the restrictions at the border between Canada and the U.S. You can t go back and forth, so we re actually going to have to realign, Bettman told NHL.com s Tom Gulitti.