![]() Daly stated that the taxi squad was devised only to circumvent the difficulties presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and is not likely to be used again in future seasons. Waiver-eligible members of the taxi squad are still subject to waiver rules. The taxi squad was designed to enable swift call-ups to the NHL team in the event of positive COVID-19 cases on each team. Only for this season, the NHL allowed each team to retain an extra traveling group of four to six players, including one goaltender, known as the taxi squad. That season, each team played only 48 games due to the aftermath of the 2012–13 NHL lockout. ![]() It was the latest a season had started, and with the fewest games per team, since the 2012–13 season. It was eventually decided to leave the Dallas Stars in the Central to make up for the team being in the Pacific Division from 1998 to 2013, and the Minnesota Wild and the St. They would have more travel time playing games in the Pacific Time Zone, but they would be against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks, three of the seven teams that did not qualify for the expanded 24-team 2020 playoffs. The only contentious issue with the temporary realignment was which two teams in the Central Time Zone would have to join the West Division. To further reduce travel, the regular season schedule was arranged into baseball-style homestands, where multiple consecutive games with the same teams were played at the same location. The seven teams in the North Division played each other nine or ten times during the regular season. Due to limitations on travel into and out of Canada, the seven Canadian teams were aligned into a single North division. On December 20, the league unveiled its plans for a 56-game regular season, and that the teams would temporarily be realigned into four regional divisions. In mid-November 2020, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated that the league was still targeting a January 1 start, but that "we have to build in flexibility for the hiccups that we expect will come along and have to expect will come along with potential COVID-19 positives and contact tracing requirements", citing "difficulties" faced by Major League Baseball and the National Football League over their handling of the pandemic. On October 6, the NHL and the NHLPA agreed to delay the targeted start date of the regular season to January 1, 2021, and to decide at a later date when to open training camp. In October 2020, both the NHL and NHLPA began discussions on the specific details on how to proceed with the season. ![]() In July 2020, the league and the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) initially agreed to tentatively schedule the opening of training camp on November 17, 2020, and the start of the regular season on December 1. national television deals with multiple networks (see § Media rights, below). But Bettman convinced them that they could not afford to sit out the season in the long run, especially with the expansion team Seattle Kraken joining the league in 2021–22, as well as the prospect of signing new U.S. With the NHL expecting to lose billions of dollars, several team owners privately told NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman that they wanted to suspend the season. The league also relies on attendance for at least 50 percent of its revenue, and the players were against spending the full season isolated in neutral-site bubbles similar to their situation during the 2020 playoffs. Attendance at each arena was limited by local health orders. In December, the league said that the season would be shorter than the typical 82 games. The 2020–21 season was originally planned to begin in October 2020 and end with the Stanley Cup being awarded in June 2021, but this had to be changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting later than normal conclusion of the previous season. League business Impact of COVID-19 and temporary realignment The playoffs concluded on July 7, with the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals in five games, winning their second consecutive and third overall Stanley Cup in franchise history. The playoffs began four days earlier on May 15, under a 16-team format with the top four teams from each division. COVID-19 outbreaks caused the games of most teams to be rescheduled beyond the regular season's original end date of May 8, with the last game being moved to May 19. Due to COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada, the league temporarily realigned for this season, putting all seven Canadian teams into one division. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was reduced to 56 games and began on January 13, 2021. The 2020–21 NHL season was the 104th season of operation (103rd season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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