2021 NHL season set to hit the ice January

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This article was published 20/12/2020 (2071 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Happy holidays, hockey fans. The gift you’ve been patiently waiting for has finally arrived. And it won’t be much longer until you can rip off the wrapping paper and start playing with your shiny new NHL season.

Weeks of on-again, off-again negotiations in the midst of a global pandemic proved fruitful this weekend as a deal was reached, then ultimately ratified by both players and owners on Sunday, for a modified 2021 campaign like no other.

Training camps for last season’s seven non-playoff teams will start on Dec. 31, with the other 24 playoff clubs hitting the ice Jan. 3. Puck drop on a 56-game schedule featuring divisional play only begins Jan. 13 and ends May 8. Playoffs, which are guaranteed to have one Canadian team in the Final Four, starting May 11. And a wrap on the whole thing by mid-July at the latest, which will allow the 2021-22 season to get back on track.

This sprint through the season should be a lot of fun, especially with what we’re going to be treated to north of the border.

This sprint through the season should be a lot of fun, especially with what we’re going to be treated to north of the border.

There’s still a few loose ends that must be tied up in the coming days, including the significant matter of where the Winnipeg Jets and six other Canadian clubs will play as part of a re-aligned division meant to avoid ongoing COVID-19 related border and travel restrictions. Provincial health and government authorities in the five impacted provinces have yet to give the green light to host empty arena games. Discussions on that front are ongoing.

British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario believed to be the most vocal opponents, while Manitoba and Alberta are reportedly on board. But if unanimous agreement can’t be reached, the likely scenario is moving the clubs to a hub city such as Edmonton, at least to start.

A similar temporary fix is likely going to happen in northern California, where the San Jose Sharks will initially take their show on the road to Arizona until they can get permission to return to their home market, which is under extensive lockdowns due to surging case numbers. And, depending what COVID-19 numbers do elsewhere, similar adjustments might have to be made on the fly.

The Jets do have permission to hold training camp in Winnipeg, and the majority of players are already back in town now to satisfy quarantine protocols. Teams will be able to bring 36 skaters and an unlimited number of goalies to camp, but must get down to a maximum roster size of 23 in time for the start of the season which must be compliant with the US $81.5 million salary cap.

However, one of the many changes this year is the creation of a “taxi squad” of between four and six players which will be comprised of those who would normally be assigned to the American Hockey League, which isn’t set to begin play until February at the earliest. (And even that is a bit of a pipe dream, considering the AHL desperately needs fans in the seats to make it viable).

Players on the taxi squad will practice and travel with the NHL team while being paid their minor-league salary and not counting against the cap. But it would keep them at the ready for when injuries ultimately come up. In that sense, training camp should be more competitive than ever, with players competing for both starting and understudy roles.

There will be no pro-rated salaries in the shortened season. Rather, players have agreed to a 10-per cent deferral (that will they collect down the road), and then put 20 per cent of the remaining salary in escrow, for a total take-home pay of 72 per cent. (As an example, a player making $1 million would defer $100,000, then have 20 per cent of the remaining $900,000 put in escrow, for an actual salary of $720,000).

As for the season itself, get ready for a steady diet of one-anthem, four-point games. The Jets will face-off against the Canucks, Flames, Oilers, Maple Leafs, Senators and Canadiens at least nine times each, with a 10th date against two of those opponents. In the other three divisions, which all have eight teams, they will play eight times against each other.

The top four squads in each division qualify for the post-season, with one playing four and two playing three in best-of-seven series, then the two winners meeting. At that point, the four division winners meet to ultimately declare a Stanley Cup champion.

The NHL has re-aligned the other three divisions as well, based primarily on geography, in order to limit how much, and how far, teams will have to travel. A complete game schedule is expected to be released this week.

The NHL has re-aligned the other three divisions as well, based primarily on geography, in order to limit how much, and how far, teams will have to travel. A complete game schedule is expected to be released this week.

There are a handful of teams, all in the United States, who are likely to welcome a small number of fans into their buildings right off the hop. Dallas is one, with as many as 5,000 fans apparently permitted. That certainly won’t be the case here in Canada.

Details of health and safety protocols are beginning to emerge, with an official document to be released soon. Players will be tested early and often, as they were during last summer’s successful return-to-play inside the bubble in Edmonton. And while there will be no secure environment this time around, the list of restrictions is expected to be exhaustive.

In Canada, it’s believed the NHL has stated players would only be allowed to go to the rink or team hotel while in a visiting city if they get permission to move about the country to play games in the seven markets. Food would be brought in to keep them out of restaurants and lounges and limit exposure to outside personnel. They won’t even be able to use the hotel gym, or have housekeeping, or have anyone but themselves in their room.

And those who don’t wish to play, for personal and/or health reasons, will have the ability to opt out without penalty.

Give the NHL and NHLPA some credit for finding a way to get back on the ice under less-than-ideal circumstances. Sure, it’s going to look quite a bit different than we’re used to. But the old saying “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” comes to mind when assessing the situation.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg