2019-20 NHL Talk (Blackhawks, Blues, Wild, Texans)

[jazzy jeff]

Start date set. Jan 13. Training camps open Jan 3rd.
Schedules and where games will be played still up in the air.

[sluggermatt15]

Originally Posted by jazzy jeff

Start date set. Jan 13. Training camps open Jan 3rd.
Schedules and where games will be played still up in the air.

Yep. I am interested to see what the realigned divisions look like.

[jazzy jeff]

Originally Posted by sluggermatt15

Yep. I am interested to see what the realigned divisions look like.

That's pretty much set. 3 Divisions of 8 teams each, and the Canadian Div of 7 teams. What has to be determined is if there will be regional hubs at start of season or will teams play on home ice.

The AHL is also working things out. In their case the teams based in the states that are affiliated with NHL teams out of Canada will have to play their games in Canada in order to supply call-ups as needed.

[sluggermatt15]

Originally Posted by jazzy jeff

That's pretty much set. 3 Divisions of 8 teams each, and the Canadian Div of 7 teams. What has to be determined is if there will be regional hubs at start of season or will teams play on home ice.

The AHL is also working things out. In their case the teams based in the states that are affiliated with NHL teams out of Canada will have to play their games in Canada in order to supply call-ups as needed.

I thought teams were going to play on home ice. Just that travel will be close as geographically possible. Have they released which teams are in the two domestic divisions?

[jazzy jeff]

Originally Posted by sluggermatt15

I thought teams were going to play on home ice. Just that travel will be close as geographically possible. Have they released which teams are in the two domestic divisions?

Not etched in stone but most likely division setup;

Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils New York Islanders
New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals


Carolina Hurricanes Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues Tampa Bay Lightning


Anaheim Ducks Arizona Coyotes
Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings Minnesota Wild
San Jose Sharks Vegas Golden Knights


Home Ice is preferred, but Hubs still under consideration at start of season.

[jazzy jeff]

A potential new issue has risen with an All Canadian Div. Seems some of the health ministries of Canada are not keen on sports played there due to Covid. This could potentially bring the 7 Canadian teams to locate here in the states. If that happens the proposed divisions could be changed to incorporate these 7 teams with the US teams with no purpose to have an "All Canadian Div". Stay tuned.

[sluggermatt15]

Originally Posted by jazzy jeff

A potential new issue has risen with an All Canadian Div. Seems some of the health ministries of Canada are not keen on sports played there due to Covid. This could potentially bring the 7 Canadian teams to locate here in the states. If that happens the proposed divisions could be changed to incorporate these 7 teams with the US teams with no purpose to have an "All Canadian Div". Stay tuned.

I think if that occurs, there has to be hubs.

[jazzy jeff]

Bettman is in talks with the Canadian Government of possibly having all 7 of their teams play out of 1 Hub City. Either Edmonton or Toronto.
At this point it is very unlikely there will be a season start date of Jan 13. Planning this season has become a major challenge all the way around.

[jazzy jeff]

To my surprise the NHL and NHLPA agreed during the early part of last evening to a 56 game season which will start as planned on Jan 13th. Where games will be played still up in the air.

[sluggermatt15]

It's good news there is a tentative agreement to play a season. Hopefully next fall we will be back to 82-games.