FILE PHOTO: NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars
The last time the NHL played a 48 game season, it was due to a lockout. It was nearly 8 years ago the league played that many games starting on January 19th.
There’s been plenty of rumors regarding next season and Gary Bettman has said it time and time again, it’s all speculation. Keep in mind what happened with Return-to-Play. Everyone said the Hub Cities were Vegas and Vancouver but the NHL refused to announce it. Instead they took in all the COVID-19 info they could up to the last minuted and chose Toronto and Edmonton. So take all of this with a grain of salt.
In a new report by ESPN, the next season could be between 48-65 games. The absolute minimum according to league source will be no less than 48 games.
As for the Stanley Cup playoffs, it will likely return to its traditional format of 16 teams and four 7 game series.
“We want to make it as traditional a tournament as we possibly can. We want to maintain the competitive integrity of the playoffs, for sure,” said Daly, who wouldn’t rule out an expanded postseason but indicated it is “not currently being contemplated.”
ESPN
So who are the top candidates to be traded in the NHL? Check out The Daily Goal Horn’s full list.
The staff at TSN has reassessed the NHL UFA landscape to create a new list. There’s no surprise who is at the top of the list with Mike Hoffman. However, Corey Perry over Mikael Granlund and Anthony Duclair? Certainly not my order.