Hockey will be back after the holidays.
A little bit more than three weeks before puck drop, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association formally approved on Sunday a 56-game regular season slated to begin on January 13th.
It’s quite literally going to be a sprint to Lord Stanley. Training camps for all 31 teams open in two weeks, setting off a scramble for players to make their way back to their playing cities, contending with quarantines and holidays at home.
Once it arrives, a 56-game campaign will be crammed into just 116 days – nearly one game for every two days – in a baseball-style schedule with mini two- and three-game series dotting each team’s exclusively intra-division schedule designed to minimize travel and the spread of COVID-19.
There is still much work to be done.
The plan is to play in all 31 NHL arenas, where possible. Some arenas will be able to host fans starting next month. Other arenas may not be able to host games at all – even without fans.
CRITICAL DATES FOR 2020-21 NHL SEASON
Dec. 31: Training camps open for seven non-playoff teams.
Jan. 3: Training camps open for the remaining 24 teams.
Jan. 13: Opening Night, Tampa Bay Lightning raise Stanley Cup banner.
April 12: Trade Deadline.
May 8: End of Regular Season.
May 11: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.
July 15: Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final.
July 21: Expansion Draft (Seattle Kraken)
July 23-24: NHL Draft (Location: TBD).
July 28: Opening of Free Agency.
October: Beginning of 2021-22 season.
The Canadian teams could play each other nine to ten times in the regular season and then there’s the playoffs!
Bring on puck drop!
https://www.tsn.ca/work-remains-before-nhl-can-drop-the-puck-for-2020-21-season-1.1566873
-Ian
Credits: tsn.ca
