NEW YORK / TORONTO – The National Hockey League Players ’Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) today announced an agreement to play a 2020-21 regular season schedule of 56 games starting Wednesday, January 13, 2021 and ending at 8 p.m. of May. part of the deal, the Stanley Cup qualifiers will feature 16 teams in the traditional four-round seven-best format and conclude in mid-July with plans to return to a “normal” hockey schedule for the season 2021-22 (regular season starting in October). The NHL and NHLPA will publish safety and health protocols, transition rules and the critical dates calendar, as well as the 2020-21 calendar in the coming days.
Given the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHLPA and NHL aim to be flexible and adaptable in their approach over the coming weeks to ensure compliance with directives from local and national government and health authorities focused on health and safety. player safety, other game-related staff, and the communities in which we play. The priority will continue to be focused on the health and safety of our fans and players and the staff of the club, league, NHLPA and arena.
“The National Hockey League is looking forward to the opening of our 2020-21 season, especially since Return to Play (2019-2020) was so successful in crowning a Stanley Cup champion,” said the commissioner of the NHL Gary Bettman. “While we are aware of the challenges ahead, as happened last spring and summer, we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our participants and the communities where we live and play. And, as it was last spring and summer, I thank the NHLPA, in particular CEO Don Fehr, for working cooperatively with us to get our League back on the ice. “
“The players are happy to have finalized deals for next season, which will be unique, but also very exciting for the fans and for the players,” said Don Fehr, NHLPA executive director. “During these troubled times, we hope the NHL games provide fans with much-needed entertainment when players return to the ice.”
In reaching an agreement on the format for the 2020-21 season, the NHL and NHLPA determined that the ongoing closure of the U.S.-Canada border required realignment and the League and players also tried to minimize the journey of the teams as much as possible moving exclusively to intradivisional play. It is the current plan to play matches on the home courts of the participating teams, understanding that most courts will not be able to accommodate fans, at least in the early part of the season. However, depending on the prevailing conditions in both local markets and throughout North America, the League will be prepared to play matches in one or more “neutral” places by division if necessary.
For the 2020-21 season, the teams will line up as follows:
North: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
West: Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis, San Jose, Vegas
Central: Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay
East: Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, New York Islands, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington
Each team in the East, Central and West divisions will play eight times all the other teams in their division, while each team in the North Division will play nine or ten times all the other teams in their division.
The top four teams in each division will qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, with intradivisional play in the first two rounds (# 1 vs. # 4; # 2 vs. # 3). The four teams that advance to the semifinals round would be ranked for their total points in the regular season, with No. 1 playing No. 4 in one series and No. 2 and No. 3 in the other.
Formal training will begin on January 3rd. There will be no preseason games. The seven teams that did not participate in the 2019-20 Return to the Game will be allowed to open their training camps on December 31st.