The 2020-21 season is full-speed ahead.
The NHL and the NHLPA jointly announced a bunch of protocols for how it’s going to handle COVID-19, positive tests, and travel next season as well as key dates (think: Trade Deadline and Expansion Draft) and a new rule change involving offside that should make it less complicated.
The below text and links are pulled from an NHL press release.
Protocols
The full text of the 2020-21 Transition Rules can be found here.
Critical Dates for 2020-21 Season
Dec. 31 – Training camps open for seven Clubs that did not participate in the resumption of play for the 2019-20 season (Anaheim, Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose)
Jan. 3 – Training camps open for the remaining 24 teams
Jan. 13 – 2020-21 regular season begins
April 12 – Trade deadline (3 p.m. ET)
May 8 – Last day of regular season
*May 11 – Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
*July 9 – Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final
July 17 – Deadline for Protection Lists for Expansion Draft (5 p.m. ET)
July 21 – Expansion Draft for Seattle Kraken (8 p.m. ET)
July 23 – Round 1 of NHL Draft
July 24 – Rounds 2-7 of NHL Draft
July 28 – Restricted Free Agent/Unrestricted Free Agent signing period begins (12 p.m. ET)
*subject to adjustment
Division Re-alignment
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
Each team will play each other eight times while the North Division (all Canadian teams) will face off against each other nine or ten times.
How often will teams play each other this season? pic.twitter.com/SVEQYzZIE7
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 20, 2020
NHL Rule 83 (Off-side)
UPDATE TO @NHL RULE 83.1 (OFF-SIDE): Beginning in the 2020-21 regular season, a player's skate will not have to be in contact with the blue line in order to be on-side.
Updated language: https://t.co/gp5npRIw9k pic.twitter.com/pT6YmA6qP5
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 22, 2020
Beginning in the 2020-21 regular season, a player’s skate will not have to be in contact with the blue line in order to be on-side. The updated language for NHL Rule 83.1 follows.
83.1 Off-side – Players of the attacking team must not precede the puck into the attacking zone.
The position of the player’s skates and not that of his stick shall be the determining factor in all instances in deciding an off-side. A player is off-side when both skates are completely over the leading edge of the blue line involved in the play.
(NEW) – A player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with the blue line, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leading edge of the blue line. On his own side of the line shall be defined by a “plane” of the blue line which shall extend from the leading edge of the blue line upwards. If a player’s skate has yet to break the “plane” prior to the puck crossing the leading edge, he is deemed to be on-side for the purpose of the off-side rule.
Headline graphic courtesy of NHL PR
