The 2020-21 NHL Season May be Upon Us
There are still many details to work out to get anything really settled for the start of the 2020-2021 NHL Season, but, there are some things we do know already, and it’s time to sit down and check what we have.
It has been a complex year, without a doubt, last season started on October 2nd of 2019 and finished almost 11 months after, due to a nearly 5 month pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and this certainly changed the whole scenario for what we could be able to see next season.
First thing first, starting date had to be moved already, the initial plan was for the regular season to start on December 1st, but it was pushed back a month, to January 1st, 2021, considering the little time teams have had to rest, and of course, everything that goes down during the offseason, like the NHL Draft, free agency, training camps, and so on. So, the first day of the year is the date targeted for now, let’s hope there are no more changes.
NHL wants to bring fans back into arenas
One of the league’s main concerns right now is the possibility to eventually try to bring fans back to games during the 2020-21 NHL Season. This is one of the teams’ main sources of income, plus, of course, the fact that sports without fans are completely different, regardless of the fact that we kind of already got used to it.
League officials have mentioned several times that the season doesn’t necessarily need to end the way it starts, and what they mean is that they hope that by mid-season, or the Stanley Cup playoffs at least, they expect to be receiving fans. It will be limited in capacity for sure, and it will depend on local restrictions and government protocols.
Also, let’s remember that contrary to the MLB or NBA, where there’s only one Canadian team, or the NFL, where there are none, in the NHL there are several Canadian representatives, and travel restrictions between Canada and the United States could be a little tricky right now due to Covid-19 issues.
How will the 2020-2021 NHL season be played?
This is something that still needs to be determined and a big factor here will be precisely when the season will start. January 1st is the set date for now, but it could still be delayed a couple of weeks or even a month, and this would mean a shorter regular season, from as low as 48 games per team, to around 65. The NHL expects the playoffs to be as traditional as possible, 16 teams as usual, and not like last season, when 24 teams were invited after the 5-month hiatus.
The reason why this season will still be very flexible in many things, is that the league wants to adjust time and effort to make sure that next season, 2021-2022 is able to return to normal, 82 games , for the sake of teams, players and fans, plus, also considering that there will be a new team in the league, the Seattle Kraken. Another reason for this season’s flexibility is that the 2021 Tokyo Olympics start on July 23rd, if everything goes well, and the league plans for the season to be over in time for that.
In the end, money will be a big factor for each and every decision the NHL makes, salary caps, tickets, TV rights, and so on. So, for now we must still wait and see how everything plays out.
