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When the 2020-21 NHL faced off back in January, fans knew they’d be in for over 100 days of consecutive hockey games even though the season was reduced to a 56-game intra-division schedule. Hockey isn’t the only sport in action during the Covid-19 pandemic though as the NBA and NFL have been playing and European soccer games are being broadcast to North America on a regular basis, not to mention boxing and the UFC.

With all the competition for TV viewers it’s a bit surprising to many experts that fans have been tuning into NHL contests in record numbers in North America in both French and English. When the league dropped the puck on January 13^th, the NBCSN (NBC Sports Network) in America kicked off with a bang by broadcasting a triple header.

The first game featured the Philadelphia Flyers vs the Pittsburgh Penguins at 5:30 p.m. ET and it averaged 972,000 viewers, making it the most-watched regular-season encounter in the history of the network. The second contest saw the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning raise their banner to the roof before taking on the Chicago Blackhawks with the Colorado Avalanche hosting the St. Louis Blues in the night’s finale.

The three midweek games combined for an average of 774,000 viewers to make it NBCSN’s most-watched multi-game opening evening. Meanwhile, up in Canada on opening night, the Montreal Canadiens visited the Toronto Maple Leafs with the broadcast averaging 2.1 million viewers on the Sportsnet platform. This made it the network’s most-watched regular-season NHL game and another 919,000 viewers tuned in to the TVA Sports network in the province of Quebec.

After the Leafs edged the Canadiens in overtime, the Edmonton Oilers took on the Vancouver Canucks out west and pulled in an average of 1.1 million viewers for Sportsnet. The two back-to-back games have been the most-watched doubleheader in regular-season history for the network. Of course, in today’s technologically-advanced era, this includes viewers on television sets, mobile phones and whatever other media devices are capable of picking up hockey broadcasts these days.

Since the province of Quebec was living under an 8 pm curfew it should have been expected that viewership numbers would rise for TVA though. But in total, viewers for the league’s opening night bonanza reached just over 11.4 million, which was a 52 per cent increase from the previous season and the highest number since the 2014-15 campaign faced off.

When the first Saturday night of the season rolled around and Hockey Night in Canada made its debut, an average of 2.8 million viewers in Canada tuned into CBC, TVA and Sportsnet combined to check out the Maple Leafs clash with the Ottawa Senators and the Canadiens take on the Oilers for a 13 per cent increase over last year’s average viewership.

When the free-to-air NBC network broadcast the Penguins vs the Washington Capitals at 12 noon ET on the first Sunday of the season, the contest averaged over 1.7 million viewers in America alone. This represents a 42 per cent increase over the networks’ first broadcast last season and was the most-watched indoor NHL regular-season game on NBC in the past three years. In total, the first 11 games shown in America on the NBC platform this season pulled in an average 526,000 fans for an increase of 14 per cent over last season.

Regional network games have also seen an increase in viewers for fans of the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and St. Louis Blues. That’s good news for the NHL, but the bad news is that the current pandemic has resulted in the postponement of several games so far. This hasn’t affected most fans luckily, since the majority of teams are playing games in empty arenas. However, a few clubs are allowing a limited number of spectators into the stands.

As of February, 7^th, close to 100 NHL players have had to miss at least one game due to a positive Covid-19 test or contact tracing. When several players from the same team have had to sit out it has led to the postponement of games including those of the Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and St. Louis Blues among others. In fact, over 20 games had to be rescheduled in the first month of the season.

So perhaps that’s the luck of the NHL in a nutshell. The league is off to a flying start where TV viewership is concerned, but it’s had to postpone games on a regular basis which means those fans will have to tune into something else when their favourite team is sitting out.

Even though the NHL is playing a reduced 56-game schedule for 2020-21 due to Covid-19, the pandemic hasn’t affected the league when it comes to blockbuster trades. The first major deal of the campaign saw centre Pierre-Luc Dubois and a third-round draft pick in 2022 leave the Columbus Blue Jackets and head to the Winnipeg Jets for forwards Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.

Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told the media he had been working on the trade for several days and the timing was right to pull the trigger, especially after the 22-year-old Dubois was recently benched during a game against Tampa Bay and has registered just one goal in five games this season.

Dubois made no secret that he wanted out of Columbus, but it still didn’t stop the restricted free agent from signing a new two-year contract in the offseason for a total of $10 million. Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella had confirmed to the press that Dubois did indeed want to leave even though he led the club in scoring last season with 18 goals and 31 assists for 49 points in 70 games while averaging 17:56 minutes of ice time a night.

Dubois was drafted third overall by Columbus in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft while Laine was taken one spot before him by Winnipeg. Dubois left Columbus with 66 goals, 93 assists and 159 points in 239 contests with another eight goals and 11 helpers for 19 points in 26 playoff outings. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Laine racked up 140 goals and 110 assists for 250 points in 306 games for Winnipeg with eight goals goals and assists for 16 points in 24 playoff encounters. He’s also a power-play specialist with 52 of his regular-season goals coming with the man advantage.

Last season, Laine posted 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points in 68 games. His goals total was the lowest in his four-season career but his .93 points-per-game total was his highest. Laine, who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the campaign, hasn’t had much of a chance to pad his numbers this season though. He played in Winnipeg’s season-opener and has been out of action since due to an upper-body injury. However, he lit it up in that game with two goals and an assist. He’s currently in the second and final year of  his contract which sees him paid $6.75 million a year.

Columbus GM Kekalainen also stated that he would have traded up at the 2016 Draft if he had the chance at the time as the team would have certainly taken Laine if possible. As for Roslovic, the other player Columbus acquired in the trade, he was an unsigned restricted free agent and quickly inked a two-year deal with the Blue Jackets for a total of $3.8 million. The 23-year-old will be heading home as he’s a native of Columbus who tallied 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points in 71 games with Winnipeg last season.

Roslovic was chosen 25^th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and had 26 goals and 41 assists for 67 points in 180 regular-season career games with five assists in his 20 playoff appearances. All three players involved expressed their excitement with the trade but it’s unclear when they’ll be able to suit up for their new teams due to corona-virus quarantine issues, visa issues and Laine’s injury.

This is the first NHL trade to include two players who were chosen in the top-five of the same NHL Draft since January, 1996. At that time, the Ottawa Senators dealt blue liner Bryan Berard, who was drafted first overall in1995, along with forward Martin Straka and goaltender Don Beaupre to the New York Islanders for rearguard Wade Redden, who was drafted second overall, and goalie Damian Rhodes.

With the NHL scheduled to drop the puck on the 2020-21 season on Jan. 13^Th, fans should be aware of several rule changes for the campaign. The 56-game season will also see temporary realignment with an all-Canadian division in place. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic still raging, several teams have had to postpone on-ice training camp activities and the Dallas Stars season-opening game has been pushed back.

Offside
The biggest rule change concerns the league’s offside rule. Starting this week, a player’s skate doesn’t have to be touching the ice at the blue line to onside. The league’s wording for rule 83.1, which deals with offside now states: “A player is considered to be onside 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.”

One of the main reasons for the rule change is to cut down on coach’s challenges after goals have been scored. Last season, a total of 14 goals were disallowed after challenges due to the play being ruled offside. The new rule is aimed at creating more offense while making it easier for linesmen to detect if a player is onside or offside.

Team Rosters
Each team will still have a 23-player roster and will have to adhere to the league’s salary cap of $81.5 million. However, clubs will be allowed to carry up to six additional players on what is known as a “taxi squad.” this season. These players will be able to travel and practice with their teams when necessary. If a taxi squad player is on a two-way contract, he will be paid his minor league salary but will receive his NHL salary if activated to the team’s roster.

The purpose of taxi squads is to make it easier for teams to call up players who are needed during the pandemic as they’ll already be with the squad and quarantine won’t be required. Players from the taxi squad who are needed for that night’s game must be called up before 5 pm. With the American Hockey League (AHL) campaign not being scheduled to start until Feb. 5^th this allows teams to keep top prospects on the taxi squad for the first few weeks of the NHL season.

Goaltenders

Emergency backup goaltenders will be required for each club, which means every team is required to carry three goalies during the season. In general, this means two on the active roster and at least one on the taxi squad. Either way, each team must have three goaltenders ready to play at all of the club’s road games.

Player Contracts

Player contracts won’t be adjusted or pro-rated for a 56-game season, but 10 per cent of their pay will be deferred this season while 20 per cent will be held in escrow to help cover the league’s lack of revenue. However, player’s performance bonuses will be pro-rated for a 56-game season. For instance, if a player was due to receive an $82,000 bonus for scoring 20 goals in an 82-game schedule, the target would now be 14 goals with the bonus being reduced to $56,000.

As for the 10-game rule regarding rookies, which saw their entry-level contract kick in after playing 10 NHL games in the season. This will now be adjusted to seven games played. In addition, all player contracts which were set to expire on June 30^th, 2021, will now be extended to July 27^th, 2021.

Covid-19 Protocols
All coaches will be required to wear masks behind the bench this season to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. Also, players are only permitted to travel from their hotel to the hockey rink with no trips to local restaurants, bars and stores being allowed. Each player will have their own hotel room and will have meals served there. All team practices will be closed to the public and must take place at an NHL-sanctioned venue.

In addition, teams have been asked to conduct virtual team meetings where possible and to practice safe physical distancing at all times. This also means team owners won’t be able to have direct contact with players, general managers and coaches, meaning no face-to-face meetings. Players have been asked to travel on their own to home games and practices and to not socialize with each other outside of the arena unless wearing a face mask and practising social distancing.

All players and staff will be tested daily for the first month of the new season and the process will then be reevaluated.

League Revenue

Since the NHL will be losing a lot of revenue in 2020-21, teams will be allowed to wear ads on player helmets this season. Fans won’t be allowed to attend games at the beginning of the season. However, it’s possible a limited number could attend games in home contests by the Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The league has also sold naming rights for each of its four divisions this season. Therefore, the NHL will consist of the Scotia NHL North Division, the Honda NHL West Division, the Discover NHL Central Division and the MassMutual NHL East Division.

The NHL officially announced that the league will face off for the 2020/21 season on January 13^th with each of the 31 clubs playing a condensed schedule of 56 games which ends on May 8th. The league and NHL Players’ Association came to an agreement and made the announcement on Dec. 20th and said the schedule and safety protocols will soon be released.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated that there are plenty of challenges ahead and the league will continue to prioritize the safety and health of all participants during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Training camps will begin on Jan. 3^rd with no preseason contests being scheduled. However the seven clubs which didn’t participate in the 24-team 2019/20 postseason this summer will be allowed to open training camps on Dec. 31^st.

The 31 teams will be realigned into four divisions with the top four teams in each division making the playoffs. Each division will then hold best-of-seven playoff series with the first-place team playing the fourth and the second-place team meeting the third-place side to determine a division winner. The four division winners will then play off in two semifinal series for the Stanley Cup with the teams being seeded on points and the first playing the fourth with the second playing the third. The postseason is expected to wrap up in mid-July with the 2021/22 NHL season then returning to normal by beginning in October as usual.

With the American-Canadian border still supposedly closed and quarantine rules still in place, the seven Canadian teams will make up one division with the American-based teams making up the other three. This allows all teams to play the regular season in their own country. In addition, teams will only play other squads within their own division to reduce travel. The clubs in the East, West and Central Divisions will play each other eight times with the Canadian squads in the North Division playing each other nine or 10 times each.

Each team is expected to play its home games in their own arena with no fans in attendance. This could eventually change though depending on regional rules and regulations regarding fans. In addition, if local rules prohibit teams from playing in their own home rinks, they may have to play games at a neutral site. For example, if the Vancouver Canucks don’t receive permission to play in British Columbia, the club may need to play it’s home contests elsewhere.

The East Division will consist of the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals with the Central Division being made up of the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The West Division will feature the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights while the North Division will see the Canadian teams the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets playing each other. This is the first time the NHL has featured an Canada division since the 1937/38 campaign.

Like most professional sports league around the world, the NHL took it on the chin financially in 2020 due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. However, some of the league’s 31 clubs absorbed more of a financial loss than others. The teams that ended the year in better were those with strong local broadcasting radio and television deals.

Since fans weren’t allowed in arenas once the league placed its schedule on hold in mid-March it meant teams had to do without critical cash revenue from ticket, sponsorship, parking and concession sales. Of course, the same thing was true during the summer months when the postseason took place inside of bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton.

This meant the Tampa Bay Lightning weren’t able to cash in on their long playoff run which resulted in the franchise’s second Stanley Cup championship. In comparison, the previous two cup winners, the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues raked in approximately $20 million each in their postseason runs.

The NHL ended up playing 85 per cent of its scheduled 82-game regular season with fans in attendance in 2019/20 and it looks like just 56 contests will be played by each squad in 2020/21. However, the question of spectators being allowed in arenas is still up in the air.. at least for the start of the campaign, which the NHL hopes will face off in mid-January.

The financial fallout of the pandemic-plagued 2019/20 season has resulted in the average NHL franchise losing two per cent of its value compared to the previous year. The average club value, which was recently announced by Forbes magazine, has declined to $653 million. This represents the first drop in value for the average club since 2001.

Revenue for the league totalled $4.4 billion for 2019/20 which was a 14 per cent decrease from 2018/19 while operating income fell 68 per cent to just $250 million. Twenty-five per cent of the NHL’s revenue last season came from just five teams, which happen to be the five most valuable in the league.

According to Forbes, the New York Rangers top this list with a value of $1.65 billion followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at $1.5 billion, the Montreal Canadiens at $1.34 billion, the Chicago Blackhawks at $1.085 billion and the Boston Bruins at an even $1 billion. All of these clubs enjoy profitable local broadcasting deals which in part helps make up for the league’s less-than-impressive national broadcasting contract.

The NHL’s national deals with Canadian and American broadcasters saw each club earn $20 million last season while NFL clubs were each paid $260 million per team due to the NFL’s national broadcasting deals. The Montreal Canadiens local broadcasting contracts were worth over $50 million last year with Toronto making fore than $40 million and the New York Rangers approximately $35 million.

In total, it’s estimated the league missed out over $200 million in postseason revenue by playing in bubble arenas without fans this summer and fall. In addition, the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the players’ association sees the revenue split evenly at 50 per cent. However, the league planned on 2019/20 revenue to reach approximately $5.4 billion and didn’t hold enough back in escrow from players’ salaries to guarantee a 50 per cent split. This resulted in the players receiving more than 50 per cent of the revenue.

Forbes reported that nine of 31 NHL teams lost at least $10 million in operating income in 2019/20 which was an increase over the five teams that lost double-digit figures the previous season. The New York Islanders reportedly lost the most at $37.9 million even though the franchise’s value remained the same at $520 million. Hopefully things will pick up for the club though in 2021/22 when it moves to a new home arena.

The average team debt in 2020 is listed at $144 million compared to $127 million in 2019 and those losses are expected to continue in 2020/21.

The following is Forbes’ list of the NHL’s franchises, their 2020 value and operating income or loss in U.S. dollars:

1. New York Rangers: $1.65 billion-Operating Income: $87 million
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: $1.5 billion-Operating Income: $56.3 million
3. Montreal Canadiens: $1.34 billion-Operating Income: $86.5 million
4. Chicago Blackhawks: $1.085 billion-Operating Income: $45.3 million
5. Boston Bruins: $1 billion-Operating Income: $26.8 million
6. Los Angeles Kings: $825 million-Operating Income: $45.3 million
7. Philadelphia Flyers: $800 million-Operating Income: $7.9 million
8. Detroit Red Wings: $775 million-Operating Income: $31.2 million
9. Washington Capitals: $750 million-Operating Income: $7.7 million
10. Vancouver Canucks: $725 million-Operating Income: $2.9 million
11. Pittsburgh Penguins: $650 million-Operating Income: $14 million
12. Dallas Stars: $575 million-Operating Income: $4.5 million
13. Vegas Golden Knights: $570 million-Operating Income: $13.9 million
14. Edmonton Oilers: $550 million-Operating Income: $16.9 million
15. New Jersey Devils: $530 million-Operating Income: $4.1 million
16. New York Islanders: $520 million-Operating Income: -$37.9 million
17. San Jose Sharks: $515 million-Operating Income: –$14.7 million
18. St Louis Blues: $510 million-Operating Income: –$8.2 million
19. Minnesota Wild: $500 million-Operating Income: –$6.2 million
20. Calgary Flames: $480 million-Operating Income: $400,000
21. Tampa Bay Lightning: $470 million-Operating Income: –$8.3 million
22. Colorado Avalanche: $465 million-Operating Income: –$10 million
23. Anaheim Ducks: $460 million-Operating Income: –$9.1 million
24. Carolina Hurricanes: $440 million-Operating Income:–$15 million
25. Nashville Predators: $435 million-Operating Income: –$13.4 million
26. Ottawa Senators: $430 million-Operating Income: –$2.9 million
27. Winnipeg Jets: $405 million-Operating Income: –$7.6 million
28. Buffalo Sabres: $385 million-Operating Income:–$10.9 million
29. Columbus Blue Jackets: $310 million-Operating Income: –$10.3 million
30. Florida Panthers: $295 million-Operating Income: –$28.9 million
31. Arizona Coyotes: $285 million-Operating Income: –$17 million

While the NBA is set to tip off its 2020/21 season just before Christmas, the NHL still doesn’t have a starting date set in stone. League commissioner Gary Bettman had hoped to see the 31 teams back on the ice for the new campaign by January 1^st but that isn’t going to happen. Bettman recently announced that things are progressing but a mid-January date is now more realistic.

He also stated that players’ health is the most important thing and with North America suffering through a second wave of Covid-19 cases, the league is willing to take it’s time before deciding on an official starting date. When and if the season does get underway, fans should expect a condensed schedule of 52 or 56 games. This will enable the NHL to wrap up the Stanley Cup Finals before the start of the 20201 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The league and NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) have met recently and will soon have to agree to a starting date since clubs will need to hold preseason training camps and get in an exhibition game or two. In addition, the seven teams which didn’t take part in the 2019/20 postseason may be given permission to hold an earlier and longer training camp. With a mid-January start to the season, training camps would be required to start very early in the month.

Some clubs, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings,   have considered playing their home games on outdoor rinks in 2020/21. In the case of Anaheim and Los Angeles, both teams could share the Dignity Health Sports Park which is a 27,000-seat stadium used by the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS soccer. The venue is owned by the Anshutz Entertainment Group, which also owns the Kings and is located just 15 miles away from the club’s home rink, the Staples Center.

This is an option which could be further explored down the road if fans or more fans are allowed in outdoor venues compared to indoor locations. Of course, the NHLPA would have to agree to it as well as local governments. The Bruins could possibly play at Fenway Park, the home of MLB’s Boston Red Sox while the Penguins could consider using Heinz Field where the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers play or PNC Park, where MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates play.

However, as other professional sports have shown, it could be possible for a limited number of fans to attend NHL games. Several MLB baseball, MLS soccer and NFL football stadiums have allowed a certain number of spectators to view games along with boxing cards. However, government rules and regulations regarding public gatherings varies from state to state and in some cases, city to city.

On the bright side, Bettman believes the upcoming Covid-19 vaccines will mean fans should be able to return to arenas in full force for the 2021/22 season when the Seattle Kraken will join the NHL as an expansion franchise. The commissioner said the league wants to return to normal in 2021/22 with the season facing off in early October as usual.

Before this season begins though, the NHL and NHLPA need to sort out a few issues including salary deferral and escrow as well as temporarily realigning the divisions to suit the current Covid-19 travel and quarantine restrictions. This means it’s highly likely that an all-Canadian division will be created since the US-Canadian border is supposedly closed to non-essential travel.

Things could change once again though with Christmas and New Year’s approaching since these holidays could result in another spike of Covid-19 cases. However, many nations will soon begin vaccination programs and this could help combat the virus.