The 2019/20 NHL season was unique for a number of reasons, perhaps most notably the fact that the playoffs were not held until mid-September. However, with the Stanley Cup awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, fans immediately turned their attention to the 2020/21 season.
But with the usual date for the regular season to begin now well in the rear-view mirror, fans are wondering what the 2020/21 season is going to look like.
Start Date and Calendar
The 2020/21 season had been provisionally scheduled to begin in early January, with the league planning to organize a full 82-game season. Until recently, the most credible reports were claiming that the first games could be played on New Year’s Day.
Under these plans, the full season would be compressed, to get more games into a shorter period of time so that the NHL could return to normality for 2021/22.
However, discussions continue between the NHL and the NHLPA as the league looks to make cost savings ahead of the new season and the players look to protect their interests. The current collective bargaining agreement guarantees a 50/50 split of all hockey-related revenue and sees 10% of their salaries deferred for the new season while also capping the amounts that are kept in escrow.
The NHL has been trying to negotiate changes to this, increasing the deferrals to as much as 26% while also raising the escrow cap. These are an attempt to improve cash flow for the league.
However, the players are not keen on the idea, especially since their salaries are likely to be paid pro-rata if the season gets shortened.
As the clock ticks down, with just a month to go before the previously planned start date, it looks increasingly likely that a full season with each team playing 82 games is incredibly unlikely.
Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time the season gets shortened. Many hockey fans will be old enough to remember the strikes and lockouts that plagued the league in the 1990s and 2000s. The worst of which was the 2004-05 season, which actually got canceled because the dispute couldn’t be resolved.
Thankfully, it seems unlikely we’ll see the season scrapped altogether, though a smaller number of games seems the most likely scenario.
Player Tracking Equipment
The NHL has been experimenting with technology for decades. In the 1990s, a divisive technology called FoxTrax was used to create a glow around the puck to help television viewers track it more easily.
After very high levels of disapproval from fans, the system was removed after just two seasons.
Thankfully, we won’t be seeing a return to a glowing puck in 2020/21, though we can expect to benefit from an increase in the quality and quantity of television graphics.
Using tracking devices inside the puck and each player and equipment fitted to the roof above the rink, the system will be able to monitor the position, direction of travel, and speed of everyone (and everything) on the ice.
The coaching staff already use this information, allowing them to tweak formations and tactics based on the data that’s live-streamed to their iPads. It also allows them to track exactly how long each player has been on the ice, enabling them to make more informed decisions about substitutions.
Each TV broadcaster will have access to the data but will be granted the freedom to decide what they do with it. So some fans may get to enjoy more of this tracking data than others.
Betting on Hockey Games
In the US, where sports betting was illegal in all but a handful of states, sports fans are embracing the newfound opportunities to wager on their favorite teams. Michigan and Tennessee have become the latest states to see sportsbooks launch, each with free bet promotions and plenty of fanfare to attract as many bettors as possible.
This means that hockey fans in each of these regions will be able to legally wager on games for the first time.
Fans in other states, such as those in Colorado, who have enjoyed legal sports betting since May, will be able to place futures bets on the season before it begins for the first time.
Divisional Changes
To assist with the compressed schedule that’s likely to be required for the 2020/21 season, we’re likely to see a temporary change to the divisions to help reduce the amount of travel that each team has to do.
This would likely see all the Canadian teams in a single division, with three or four different divisions in the US. These wouldn’t be radically different from what we’ve seen since 2013, though it would help the players rest more between games since they wouldn’t need to be on the road so much.
This throws up many problems though, such as teams from different time zones playing against each other, and competitive imbalances.
Like with the financial discussions, there are continuing debates around the divisions which don’t look like they’ll be settled any time soon.
No International Games
With the regular season getting compressed and divisions being shaken up to reduce the amount of travel that teams will have to undertake, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that international games are going to be unlikely in 2020/21.
Earlier this year, three regular-season games had been scheduled to take place in Helsinki, Finland. Other games against teams from European leagues, like one between the Boston Bruins and Adler Mannheim from Germany, were also canceled.
It seems more probable that international games will return for the 2021/22 season, though the NHL hasn’t yet explicitly ruled them out for this year.
In Summary
Overall, the 2020/21 NHL season could prove to be an interesting one, both on and off the ice. A compressed schedule and mixed up divisions could lead to interesting pairings that could have implications on the playoffs.
For fans, the addition of new television graphics and more opportunities to wager on games will also make the season more interesting.