The National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association have finally reached a tentative agreement on the logistics for the 2020-21 season. With this agreement, the 2020-21 NHL season is expected to start on Wednesday, Jan. 13 and will likely feature a 56-game schedule.
"We have a tentative agreement with the Players' Association on plans for the 2020-21 NHL season," said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly in a statement. "The agreement is subject to approval by both of our respective constituencies."
According to reports, the NHLPA executive board will have a conference call on Friday night to begin the process of approval for the plan. Meanwhile, the NHL's Board of Governors will have a conference call for their vote of approval on Sunday.
TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger reports that a formal announcement of the agreement between both parties for the season could come as soon as Sunday or Monday.
While all the details of the logistics for the 2020-21 season have yet to be formally announced, here are some of the details that are being reported as of Friday night:
- Training camps for the 24 teams that played in the Return To Play plan this past summer will start on Sunday, Jan. 3.
- Training camps for the seven teams that failed to qualify for the Return To Play plan will be able to start on Thursday, Dec. 31.
- NHL rosters will consist of 23 players with an $81.5 million salary cap
- Each team will have a taxi squad consisting of 4-6 players that travel and practice with the team. Taxi squad players will be paid full AHL salary unless called up, and the current Collective Bargaining Agreement has been expanded to include for more flexible emergency recalls.
- The NHL may limit how long a team can keep players on the taxi squad without playing in a game.
- Teams will have the option to carry-over contracts of players who elect to opt out of the 2020-21 season.
- The NHL will play no exhibition games leading up to the start of the season.
- If the NHL season does start on Jan. 13, the league would have until Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. EST to submit their final roster and be cap compliant.
- The 2021 playoffs will feature the top-four teams in each division qualifying, with each division also producing a champion for the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- The third round matchups will be seeded based on regular season points.
One of the main talking points over the last 24-to-48 hours has become the possibility of the seven Canadian teams in the league playing the 2020-21 season in the United States if agreements can't be reached with the league, the teams and provincial health authorities in Canada.
David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period reports that the five provinces that hold the seven teams are working together to formulate a plan to allow the teams to play in their home arenas this season. If that happens, all seven teams would play in an "All-Canadian" division and only play the 56-game regular season against those teams.
Pending the approval from the Canadian provinces, here is how the four divisions will reportedly look for the upcoming campaign:
Canadian:
- Calgary Flames
- Edmonton Oilers
- Montreal Canadiens
- Ottawa Senators
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vancouver Canucks
- Winnipeg Jets
Atlantic:
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Sabres
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- New York Rangers
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Washington Capitals
Central:
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Detroit Red Wings
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Dallas Stars
- Florida Panthers
- Nashville Predators
- Tampa Bay Lightning
Pacific:
- Anaheim Ducks
- Arizona Coyotes
- Colorado Avalanche
- Los Angeles Kings
- Minnesota Wild
- San Jose Sharks
- St. Louis Blues
- Vegas Golden Knights
All four divisions are reportedly going to be re-named ahead of the start of the season.
While the NHL will work with the Canadian provinces to finalize some sort of plan, there appears to be a pair of contingency plans if a plan cannot be finalized.
The first option would be to have all seven teams play in one central hub city, which would likely be the city of Edmonton, where the NHL held its Return To Play plan over the summer. However, that option has not been a popular option from the players' perspective.
The other option would be to move all seven Canadian teams to play the season in the United States.
If the teams elect to play the upcoming season in the U.S., the NHL will re-align the divisions once again.
Stay tuned for the latest on this developing story...
