The Official 2020 - 2021 NHL and Everything Hockey Thread

OITW

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The NHL and NHL Players' Association reached an agreement Sunday to play a 56-game regular season starting Jan. 13, 2021, and ending May 8.

Formal training camps will begin Jan. 3. There will be no preseason games. The seven teams that did not participate in the 2019-20 Return to Play will be permitted to open their camps as early as Dec. 31.

Under the agreement, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature 16 teams in a best-of-7, four-round format and conclude around mid-July with the plan of returning to a normal hockey calendar for the 2021-22 season (regular season beginning in October). The NHL and NHLPA will release the 2020-21 schedule for each team, health and safety protocols, transition rules and a calendar of critical dates in the coming days.

Games will be within realigned divisions only, including a division of the seven teams based in Canada. In reaching agreement on the format for the 2020-21 season, the NHL and NHLPA determined that the ongoing closure of the United States-Canada border required realignment and also sought to minimize travel as much as possible by shifting to exclusively intradivisional play.

Each team in the East, Central and West divisions will play every other team in its division eight times, and each team in the North Division (Canada teams) will play every other team in its division nine or 10 times.

The top four teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs. The first two rounds will be intradivisional, with the first-place team playing the fourth-place team and the second-place team facing the third-place team in the first round. The four teams that advance from the second round to the Semifinal Round will be seeded by their points total in the regular season (No. 1 vs. No. 4; No. 2 vs. No. 3).

The last game of last season was played Sept. 28, when the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Full Article from NHL.com
 
Looking forward to getting the new season underway. Will definitely be interesting to see how the new alignment works out. Couple of really tough divisions out there
 
Division Realignment

The 31 NHL teams will be realigned in four new divisions for this season, including one for the seven teams based in Canada.

Each team will play a 56-game schedule and face teams only in its division during the regular season, which will begin Jan. 13, 2021, after the NHL and NHL Players' Association announced approval of the plan Sunday.

The top four teams in each division will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when each round will be best-of-7.

East Division

The Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals

Central Division

The Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning

West Division

The Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights

North Division

The Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets will play in the North Division.
 
Looking forward to getting the new season underway. Will definitely be interesting to see how the new alignment works out. Couple of really tough divisions out there

Definitely going to be a tough battle to see which teams are the final 16
 
And no conferences, so there could be two eastern (or two western teams) in the Stanley Cup final.
 
LET’S GOOOO! One more reason to turn the page to 2021!!!
 
I am so happy to see this!! I'm going into hockey withdrawals! Good thing the World Juniors tournament starts up soon too!
 
At least they’re going to play.
yeah, maybe when they get going I'll feel good about it.

Need to make a tough decision on whether I just watch a different team this year with center ice, or acquire cable again.
 
Haven't watched the Ducks since March. I'm dying inside. Can't wait for this! Our division is killer though. Going to be tough
 
Shouldn't this thread be referred to as the 2021 season? Since it starts in Jan? LOL>

I am ready for some hockey to start.
 
yeah, maybe when they get going I'll feel good about it.

Need to make a tough decision on whether I just watch a different team this year with center ice, or acquire cable again.

I only watch playoff hockey. The only regular season games I watch are in person in Tampa. Don’t think that’s going to happen in this upcoming season.
 
Now that's a change I can get behind!

"The often exasperating NHL Rule No. 83 now states that a player will be considered on- or off-side based on the "plane" of the blue line, “which shall extend from the leading edge of the blue line upwards.” This means that a player’s position in space — and no longer simply their point of contact with the ice — will be considered when making calls on the ice and when examining offside reviews"
 
Now that's a change I can get behind!

"The often exasperating NHL Rule No. 83 now states that a player will be considered on- or off-side based on the "plane" of the blue line, “which shall extend from the leading edge of the blue line upwards.” This means that a player’s position in space — and no longer simply their point of contact with the ice — will be considered when making calls on the ice and when examining offside reviews"
I just read this as well... I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.
 
yeah, maybe when they get going I'll feel good about it.

Need to make a tough decision on whether I just watch a different team this year with center ice, or acquire cable again.
 
Now that's a change I can get behind!

"The often exasperating NHL Rule No. 83 now states that a player will be considered on- or off-side based on the "plane" of the blue line, “which shall extend from the leading edge of the blue line upwards.” This means that a player’s position in space — and no longer simply their point of contact with the ice — will be considered when making calls on the ice and when examining offside reviews"

I like that too!
 
Shouldn't this thread be referred to as the 2021 season? Since it starts in Jan? LOL>

I am ready for some hockey to start.

I'm sure the Mod that will be spending plenty of time in here can fix it lol
 
I'm sure the Mod that will be spending plenty of time in here can fix it lol
Hahaha...I mean just want to make sure we get rid of any 2020 identification! Let 2020 be in the rearview mirror.
 
What are the drawbacks?
We're going to see that parallax angle thing come up again, and I kind of feel like this is similar to the Brett Hull foot in the crease rule.

I mean, I don't hate it - I'm just not completely sold yet.
 
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