Key Dates for the Proposed 2021 NHL Season

Now official, pending a review of the MOU II, consider this all official information:

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

As per the Insiders, doing that thing they do where they take turns telling you the tidbits on the CBA deal about to be revealed, we have some dates for the coming season.

Credit goes to Pierre LeBrun, Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli, with some cameos by Bob McKenzie and a bit from Elliotte Friedman yesterday.

• Opt-out deadline: December 24 for non-playoff teams, December 27 for everyone else
• Regular season start: January 13
• RFA signing deadline (the usual December 1 one): February 11
• Players on one-year deals may sign extensions: March 12
• Regular season end: May 8
• Trade deadline: April 12
• Playoffs over by July 15 at the latest
• Protected lists due for the expansion draft on July 17
• Expansion draft: July 21
• Entry Draft: July 23-24
• Free agency begins: July 28/

Some implications of all of that:

The season starting on January 13 and ending on May 8 would make the 2020-21 season 116 days (as opposed to the usual 186).

Trade deadline on April 12 would put it at 26 days from the end of the season, or roughly at the 80% mark of the season which is what it would normally be. https://t.co/J9upFa8W9I

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 20, 2020

This should make the rate at which cap space accumulates close to the normal one.

Always listen to the experts on this one:

For the purpose of cap counting, the mechanism for doing so remains the same. However, with the number of days reduced from 186 to 116 for the upcoming season, players daily rate will increase by roughly 40%.

League min player $700,000 daily rate:
2019-20: $3,763
2020-21: $6,035

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 20, 2020

15th of July is the last day to sign European players fro the draft IIRC. This would mean that first rounders would stay in Europe another year after the draft, am I right @Sz1909_Szemberg? https://t.co/Lk7R7ydGTw

— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) December 20, 2020

It seems almost inevitable that some amendments to the transfer agreements would be needed, but if this stands, the number of players it would affect is very small.

NMCs extended through July so that any player supposed to have one through the Seattle expansion draft still does.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 20, 2020

Seattle #Kraken Expansion draft updates:

Player exposure requirements:
40GP requirement becomes 27GP [56/82]
70GP requirement becomes 54GP [(56+70)/164]

Career ending injury threshold of 60 consecutive GP becomes 41GP [56/82]https://t.co/DP5mKUfZ26

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 20, 2020

Now, considering this is the weekend before Christmas, and none of us want to be talking about key dates, have this antique recipe for the fun kind of dates:

Date Squares

Mix:

• 1 ³⁄₄ c. Flour
• ¹⁄₂ t. Salt
• 1 t. Baking Powder
• ¹⁄₂ t. Baking Soda/

Stir in:

• 2 ¹⁄₂ c. Rolled Oats
• ³⁄₄ c. Brown Sugar/

Cut in:

1 c. Butter

Cook together:

• 1 ¹⁄₂ lb Dates (pitted)
• 1 ¹⁄₂ c. Boiling Water
• ¹⁄₃ c. Sugar/

When thickened add:

1 t. Vanilla Extract

Cover half a greased baking pan with the oatmeal mixture and press it down. Spread with cooled dated mixture, and then cover with remaining oatmeal mixture. Use a pan large enough to make the whole thing approximately 3/4” thick.

Bake in a 350° F oven for 45 - 60 min until browned lightly. (Look, this recipe is from 1965, and no one’s oven worked all that great then. You’ll just have to wing it.)

And that’s your key dates. Pick whichever type you’re interested in and have a good weekend. There’s likely to be some news this afternoon on the Board of Governors and GMs having votes/calls.