It’s official: the 2020-21 NHL regular season will begin Jan. 13 with a 56-game schedule and end May 8 following an agreement Sunday between the league and NHL Players' Association.
The Avalanche will play in a realigned West Division with Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose, St. Louis and Vegas.
Formal training camp will begin Jan. 3.
The schedule is expected to be released in the next few days.
"The National Hockey League looks forward to the opening of our 2020-21 season, especially since the Return to Play in 2019-20 was so successful in crowning a Stanley Cup champion," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "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.
“And, as was the case last spring and summer, I thank the NHLPA, particularly executive director Don Fehr, for working cooperatively with us to get our League back on the ice."
How the four divisions will look:
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
There won’t be any preseason games.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature 16 teams in a best-of-7, four-round format and conclude around mid-July.
All teams will play regular-season games within their division to minimize travel. Teams in the East, Central and West divisions will play every other team in their division eight times. Each team in the North Division (all in Canada) will play every other team in the division nine or 10 times.
The top four teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs. The first two rounds will be within divisions; the first-place team will play the fourth-place team, and the second-place team will play the third-place team in the first round, with the winners meeting in the second round.
The four surviving teams will advance to the semifinals seeded by their regular-season points. Depending on the COVID-19 pandemic conditions, the plan is for teams to play in their home arenas, most likely without fans at the start as the agreement includes health and safety protocols.
"The players are pleased to have finalized agreements for the upcoming season, which will be unique but also very exciting for the fans and players alike," Fehr said in a statement. "During these troubled times, we hope that NHL games will provide fans with some much-needed entertainment as the players return to the ice."