On Sunday December 20th, the National Hockey League and NHLPA announced an agreement to play the upcoming season consisting of a total of 56 games. Training camp is set to begin on January 3rd whilst the regular season will begin on January 13th.
The 2020-21 season will see a realignment and formation of new divisions with every matchup also remaining divisional. The four of them, for 2020-21, are titled the North, West, Central and East divisions.
The North Division, pending possible changes, is an all-Canadian division, consisting of the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets.
The West Division will see matchups between the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Central Division is then made up of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and the 2020 Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lastly, the East Division consists of the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.
The expectation is that the first two playoff rounds will remain divisional, with each division having at least one team in the Stanley Cup semi-finals.