By mid-afternoon Sunday, we should have definite word on whether we will have a season, as the Board of Governors is slated to vote at noon followed by a GM vote at 2pm. Presuming no hiccups - and again everything is pandemic dependent - training camps for the seven teams who were not in play-in round will open December 30 followed by the remainder on January 3. Game action begins January 13 in four realigned divisions.
Full story with details on the #NHL’s tentative agreement with #NHLPA for the 2020-21 season:https://t.co/ERT4YwSJMG
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 19, 2020
Column. On ‘20-21 and look at Rangers roster and taxi squad. https://t.co/I2gtYWlp4d
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) December 20, 2020
Some notes from Seravalli's column and his tweets along with some additional details from Pierre LeBrun, Elliotte Friedman and Larry Brooks with my notes in italics:
> NHL players will be paid 72 per cent of their published salaries in 2020-21. Twenty per cent will be taken off the top to repay owners for the revenue shortfall that saw players collect more than their allotted 50-50 share; then another 10 per cent of that 80 per cent remaining will be deferred, to be repaid beginning three years later in installments. (Players get paid a slightly higher than 56 games out of an 82-games season would normally be. But the repayment still has no interest, so a win for the owners)
> Players may choose to opt-out from the 2020-21 season if he or an immediate family member is considered part of certain high-risk categories. Any player who chooses to opt-out will not be paid and his team holds the option of tolling (or carryover) his contract for one year. (Interesting that the player gets no salary. We night see the occasional player opt out, but the majority of the players are likely not able to lose a year's salary - especially the younger ones - without a major hit. Similar to baseball and football, the determination on opting out is based on high-risk criteria. This is similar to last year, and since Kaapo Kakko played in the bubble, I expect him to suit up this year)
> Some new key dates: Opt-out deadline is Dec. 24 for non-playoff teams, Dec. 27 for playoff teams. Group II RFAs must be signed by Feb. 11 to play this season (usually Dec. 1). And, players on one-year deals can extend on March 12 (usually Jan. 1) (I would expect Mike Hoffman and Markus Granlund to sign soon. Zdeno Chara to make a decision in the next week or so, ending that mini drama. The second full wave of free agent frenzy is coming very shortly)
> Rosters will be capped at the usual 23 men with an $81.5 million salary cap. Each team will be permitted to carry a four to six player “taxi squad,… which includes a mandatory third goaltender. All 29 (maximum) players will practice and travel with the team. (the constitution of that taxi squad will be ripe for chatter and conversation and possible abuse. With the AHL season not slated to start until February 5, I would expect that squad to be made up of kids who would have been sent down initially. Strong play in practice or amongst the taxi squad, since teams might opt to have more players around until AHL, could result in a promotion. I look for Tarmo Reunanen, who is heading to the US from Finland, to be on the taxi squad, if he fails to make the roster. Same for K'Andre Miller, at least initially, though both are probable to play in Hartford. Libor Hajek could open the season at the seventh d-man. One player who won't be on that list is Yegor Rykov, who in addition to Vitali Kravtsov, is committed to remaining in Russia for the entirety of the KHL season, as reported by Brooks.
As Brooks noted, Brett Howden, Morgan Barron, Kevin Rooney, Phil DiGiuseppe, Colin Blackwell, Tim Gettinger, Justin Richards, Austin Rueschhoff and Patrick Khodorenko, should compete for spots on the varsity and taxi squad. Keith Kinkaid would all but surely be the taxi-squad goaltender, but could see some action so that he can be exposed in the expansion draft. The Rangers will want 22-year-old Tyler Wall, who signed out of Massachusetts-Lowell in May, to get games.) .
> For all salary cap intents and purposes, the taxi squad will be treated like the AHL. Players will require waivers to be sent down to the taxi squad from the active roster. Players on the taxi squad will also be paid an AHL salary if playing on a two-way contract. (This prevents just stashing players to avoid cap impacts and also allows the player to be sent down to play in the minors rather than just sitting on the taxi squad. I am sure we will see some abuse of this privilege, but the benefits for the player to hang with the parent club longer can't be overlooked. Clearly, most will need the minor-league seasoning, however, training with the major league squad should provide future gains)
> All indications from #NHL travel protocol drafts are that player movement in road cities will be very stringent. Players and staff will be limited to game rink, practice rink, or team hotel. That's it. No outside facilities, bars, restaurants or shops. All meals in team hotel.
Language in protocol continues to change, and will further with input from provincial health authorities. No guests in hotel rooms. No use of hotel gym. No housekeeping. Assigned seats on buses and planes. In-flight catering eliminated where feasible, etc. It's all spelled out. (This is like a bubble, just outside the bubble. Players chafed last year and that was the playoffs. This year, with those restrictions - at least until the vaccine becomes widely available - I could easily see mistakes or accidents violating protocol occurring. These restrictions will not be easy to follow)
> Pending provincial health approval, the NHL’s four divisions will be re-aligned and re-named for 2020-21:
- Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg. - Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington. - Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay. - Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose, St. Louis, Vegas.
Playoffs will be top four in each division -- each division produces a champion for the Stanley Cup Semifinal
If the seven Canadian teams end up temporarily moving to the United States, then the NHL will need to realign again. This is because there are still some snags which includes ratification by the NHL Board of Governors and the NHLPA and what will happen with the five Canadian Provinces and any Covid-19 restrictions which will affect the "All-Canadian" division for this season
Per Larry Brooks, If the league is required to move the seven teams into a hub in Edmonton for at least the first weeks of the 56-game schedule, or relocate the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Senators, Jets, Flames, Oilers and Canucks to sites in the United States, the starting dates likely would be pushed back. (Slight tweak to what was announced or rumored division wise earlier. As Pierre LeBrun reported, Dallas and Minnesota swamped spots. As the top-four in each division make the playoffs, the Rangers have a major battle on their hands. You would think Buffalo and New Jersey are the probable seven and eight spot candidates in the division, though Buff should be better. Which three from the other six are the Rangers finishing ahead? I would prefer top-eight in each "conference," but that is not to be the case. With each division playing their rivals eight times, save for the Canadian Division, expect each game to be a mini-war and the playoffs to be like series from the 70s and early-80s)
> Fun date for hockey fans to circle: Free Agent Frenzy set for July 28 as per NHL-NHLPA agreement (July 28 is the old July 1, which was replaced this year as well. Hopefully in 2022, we get back to Canada Day as the free agent frenzy date. Wonder if the market will be as depressed as it was this year).
> There will be no exhibition games. (no shock since camps won't fully open until July 3)
> The season is tentatively set to end May 8 with the Stanley Cup being awarded the first week in July (this was widely reported and no changes from what was initially discussed. We will get 56 games in slightly less than four months of the calendar or around 114 days, meaning games every other night. Look for lots of back-to-backs and three in four nights making having two solid goalies, which the Rangers have, vital)