Breaking down all the latest news, rumors, reports surrounding 2020-21 NHL season

Other Issues

Let’s now quickly round up a list of other potential issues facing the NHL prior to the start of the 2020-21 season on Jan. 13, 2021.

Key Dates 

How will a shortened season impact some of the most important dates on the NHL calendar? We are of course talking about the Trade Deadline, which normally happens at the midway point of the season. With only 56 games being played, when will the Trade Deadline take place and will it be impacted by COVID-19 in regards to players travelling to a new team and then having to quarantine?

That, and also dates for Free Agency and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, are all currently being worked on and then you also have the small matter of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft with the Seattle Kraken set to enter the league in 2021-22.

The above alone hammers home the point just how much work the NHL has to do before a puck is even dropped on Jan. 13, 2021.

Expanded Rosters

As we saw during the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Expanded Rosters and Taxi Squads are likely given the issues facing each team due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

If a bunch of players go down with the virus at once, then teams will need standby players nearby in order to call them up and put them straight on to the roster, but it is an issue still currently being worked on by the NHLPA.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Will the Stanley Cup Playoffs look different in 2021? Will they be played inside two Bubbles again as they were in 2019-20?

To answer simply, they will more than likely look different in 2021 but exactly how is anyone’s guess at this point, coupled with the fact that a lot could change between now and April.

We do know that, per a Pierre LeBrun report on Oct. 10, the NHL will likely adopt a straight Divisional Playoff format for the 2020-21 season only, with the top seed playing the No. 4 seed, the No. 2 seed taking on the No. 3 seed in each Division and so on.

Those changes are likely because of the ongoing border issues but the NHL will likely play it by ear in relation to the Stanley Cup Playoffs due to their hope that fans will be allowed back in the stands come postseason time.

Players Opting Out

Players were allowed to opt-out during the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs if they were uncomfortable with playing during a Pandemic, and that is again expected to be the case for the 2020-21 season.

Whether players will still get paid if they decide to opt-out is still being worked on, among other related issues, but it is expected that the option to opt-out will be available for individuals who aren’t comfortable with playing this year.

Relocation 

While Division Realignment will help to solve travel to a certain extent, there is another problem that could rear its ugly head.

As we saw in Major League Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays and as we are seeing in the NFL right now with the San Francisco 49ers and in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors, some NHL teams may have to relocate if certain states impose restrictions that prevent sports from happening in that particular state.

It has already impacted the San Jose Sharks after Santa Clara County banned contact sports for three weeks, meaning that the Sharks had to put an immediate stop to informal workouts.

However, it is expected that the NHL will have a number of contingency plans in place to deal with that issue should it arise, including moving teams to other NHL arenas nearby on a temporary basis.

Overall, there is a lot still to do and a lot of issues still to face, but the NHL is on the brink of a return and hopefully this guide will help get you up to speed ahead of puck drop on the 2020-21 season on Jan. 13, 2021.