NHL announces 56-game season starting Jan. 13, divisional realignment
The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to play a 2020-21 regular season that will begin on Jan. 13 and feature 56 games.
The league also confirmed the realignment of its divisions and the creation of four new ones for the upcoming season: North, West, Central, and East.
The @NHLPA and @NHL have announced an agreement to play a 2020-21 regular-season schedule of 56 games beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. https://t.co/2on0oStnMd pic.twitter.com/aggYeVMjfj
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 20, 2020
Due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL and NHLPA are willing to be as flexible as possible in the coming weeks while working with local and national government and health authorities.
The NHL and NHLPA determined that the ongoing United States-Canada border closure requires the division realignment. The plan is for teams to play games in home arenas, but the NHL will be prepared to host contests in one or more "neutral site" venues tied to each division if that becomes necessary.
"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 communities in which we live and play," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "... I thank the NHLPA, particularly executive director Don Fehr, for working cooperatively with us to get our league back on the ice."
The regular season will conclude May 8. It will feature exclusively intradivisional play, meaning a team will square off with the clubs in its division eight times. In the North Division, squads will face each other nine or 10 times.
The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature 16 teams in a traditional best-of-seven, four-round format wrapping up in mid-July. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the postseason, with intradivisional play continuing for the first two rounds.
Formal training camps are set to begin on Jan. 3, and there will be no preseason games. The seven teams that didn't participate in last season's Return to Play can begin training camp on Dec. 31.
The league has also reportedly established dates for its key events, such as the 2021 draft, the opening of free agency, and the trade deadline.