NHL 2020/21 - Season preview & Broadcasting information
The NHL 2020/21 season is just days away as the teams are finalizing the last preparations and are getting ready for a long and intense season. The first games will take place on the 13th of October and as always, you’ll be able to find information on when and where to watch it live on Livesportsontv.com. It has been just over 100 days since the Tampa Bay Lightnings lifted the Stanley Cup trophy back in September, and now the wait is finally over. Get yourself ready for another great NHL season!
NHL 2020/21 – Season structure
The 2021 season will be the 104th edition of the National Hockey League. The normal 82-games format that we’re used has been shortened to a regular season consisting of 56 games. The season is scheduled to run from the 13th of January until July when the Stanley Cup finals will be held. There will be no new contenders for this season, making the list of the 32 NHL teams identical to the one that applied for the previous season.
The 32 teams will be divided into four different divisions for this season’s unique setup. There will be one division with only Canadian teams due to restrictions and limitations on travel across the US/Canadian border. The four divisions will be as following:
Central: Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning
East: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
West: Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights
North: Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets
During the regular season teams will only face opponents from their own division. The teams in the three US divisions will play each other eight times, while teams in the North Division will play each other nine or ten times. When all 56 games are played the top four teams in each division will advance to the Playoffs. The Playoffs will begin with two stages where only teams from the same division will play each other. In the opening stage of the Playoffs the first placed teams in each division will play the fourth placed team and the second placed teams will go up against the third placed teams. In the next stage, the winners of the first Playoffs series will play each other in order to decide who’re proceeding to the Stanley Cup Semifinals.
The Stanley Cup Semifinals will be the last stage before the Stanley Cup Finals and a round where the four best teams, one from each division, will play for a spot in the final series. The games will be decided by the teams seeding points based on the regular season performance.
Playoffs Structure
First round – 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd
Second round – Winners of the first round play each other
Stanley Cup Semifinals
Stanley Cup Finals
*All rounds will be best-of-seven-games
Watch the NHL on TV & stream
With limited to no spectators at the games it will be all eyes on the TV and streaming services for all NHL fans this season. The compromised game schedule means that we’ll have games more or less every day to look forward to. To make sure you’re not missing out on any of the action this season check in on Livesportsontv.com and get access to a complete NHL TV-schedule.
For US viewers the 2021 season will be the last NHL season to fall under the current NBC Sports deal which has been in place since the 2011/12 season. The deal that is running out after this season has generated nearly $2 billion.
In Canada the upcoming NHL season will be contracted and broadcast by Roger Sports & Media. This will be the seventh consecutive season with the Canadian sports network as the national broadcaster of NHL in Canada. Additionally, the Canadian teams have their own regional TV-rights sold out to various televising networks.
If you’re looking for the best and most reliable information and NHL TV-schedule you will find Livesportsontv.com useful. We cover all the US and Canadian channels and streaming services, collect broadcasting information and make it accessible for every NHL fans. The TV-schedule is updated regularly to cover any late changes and the starting times are adjusted to your current location and time zone.
NHL Draft
The 58th edition of the NHL Draft took place between the 6th-7th of October. All 31 teams participated in the draft where some of the most promising prospects and talents were waiting to join an NHL team. The order in which the teams are drafting the players are decided by two lotteries, first phase and second phase. After the lotteries were completed it was the New York Rangers who had the advantage of picking the first draft. The picking order for the first five teams were as followed:
1. New York Rangers -> Alexis Lafreniere (LW), CAN
2. Los Angeles Kings -> Quinton Byfield (C), CAN
3. Ottawa Senators (Traded from the San Jose Sharks) -> Tim Stuetzle (LW), GER
4. Detroit Red Wings -> Lucas Raymond (LW), SWE
5. Ottawa Senators -> Jake Sanderson (D), USA
Author: Dan Anderson