On Sunday, we finally got the long-awaited announcement of the NHL’s plan for the 2020-21 season.
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
In this new Central Division, the Columbus Blue Jackets will play their new (and in some cases old) rivals eight times each. The top four teams from each division make the playoffs, with one team from each division making the semifinals, where they will be seeded by record.
Here are the important dates to know for the season and next off-season:
Shown is a calendar of critical dates for the upcoming NHL 2020-21 seasonhttps://t.co/3B8UOBLIyt pic.twitter.com/fwGWRboLge
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 20, 2020
Stay tuned after in January for full coverage of our competition and the position battles to watch in camp.
Wanna bet?
I’m not good enough at gambling to blow my money on it, but I still find it interesting to see the betting community’s predictions for the various awards races. Here are leaders in the early odds from Sportsbetting.com, along with the Blue Jackets listed for each:
Hart Trophy
Nathan MacKinnon 4-1
Connor McDavid 5-1
Leon Draisaitl 11-1
Nikita Kucherov 13-1
Artemi Panarin 15-1
Pierre-Luc Dubois 80-1
Calder Trophy
Igor Shesterkin 2-1
Alexis Lafreniere 5-2
Kirill Kaprizov 5-1
Grigori Denisenko 9-1
Quinton Byfield 11-1
Liam Foudy 44-1
Vezina Trophy
Andrei Vasilevskiy 5-1
Connor Hellebuyck 6-1
Tuukka Rask 7-1
Robin Lehner 10-1
Jordan Binnington 13-1
Elvis Merzlikins 55-1
Joonas Korpisalo 75-1
Norris Trophy
John Carlson 4-1
Roman Josi 9-2
Victor Hedman 5-1
Brent Burns 12-1
Cale Makar 14-1
Seth Jones 36-1
Zach Werenski 50-1
Art Ross Trophy
Connor McDavid 3-1
Nathan MacKinnon 6-1
Leon Draisaitl 7-1
Nikita Kucherov 13-1
Artemi Panarin 14-1
Jack Adams
Jared Bednar 6-1
Barry Trotz 8-1
Rick Bowness 9-1
Peter DeBoer 10-1
Jon Cooper 10-1
John Tortorella 27-1
Rocket Richard
Leon Draisaitl 6-1
Alex Ovechkin 7-1
Auston Matthews 8-1
Connor McDavid 9-1
David Pastrnak 10-1
Oliver BJORKSTRAND 45-1
Anything here seem too high or too low? Any Blue Jackets you would put odds on instead?
The week that was
The Cannon Cast discussed the return to play rumors and reflected on some positive things in their lives.
Rachel wrote about the Sergei Bobrovsky era in Columbus.
Elaine posted volume 2 of her mailbag, answering questions about favorite players, traditions, and the AHL’s return to play.
Enjoy this video recapping the Rick Nash trade and all of the subsequent trades that resulted from it:
Play me out
Being home for Christmas may take on a different meaning this year. I’ll miss seeing the extended family like I usually do. May all of you make the best of the holiday while staying as safe as possible.