If it feels like the 2020-21 NHL season finished yesterday, it’s because it did. Well, almost. It’s been barely two months since the conclusion of the Stanley Cup finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. And yet, we’re on the cusp of a brand new NHL season with less than a month to go. 
The league plans to return to a full 82-game NHL schedule, despite genuine concerns amongst those involved about the impact of a short offseason on the quality and integrity of the competition. And amidst these ambitious plans, the league hopes to have at least 90 percent of its players vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, and to accommodate the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing with the upcoming NHL schedule.
The 2021-22 NHL season is set to begin in October and end in April 2022. The Stanley Cup playoffs will follow immediately thereafter with an end date projected for June, marking a return to normality for the NHL.
The league is hoping for a complete return to normal in all proceedings and activity. At the same time, doing away with most of the pandemic-mandated restrictions that altered the fabric of the 2021-22 NHL season, making it one of the most unique in the history of the NHL.
The 2020-21 NHL season started in January of this year. It had to be truncated to 56 games, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the previous season and the subsequent late start of the 2021 campaign. Divisions were also reorganised on account of the travel restrictions imposed between the United States and Canada, and the ensuing playoffs format was impacted as a result too.
The Montreal Canadiens usually play in the Eastern Conference, but because of the way the playoffs unfolded this year, they ended up facing the Western Conference standouts, the Vegas Golden Knights in the semi-final round. The Canadiens beat the highly-fancied Golden Knights. As a result, they were awarded the Clarence Campbell Bowl, which is typically reserved for the Western Conference champions. In the meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning hoisted the Prince of Wales Trophy after winning the Eastern Conference at the expense of the New York Islanders.
So, technically, the Canadiens go into the next season as the reigning Western Conference champions, but with no hope of defending that title. Online sports betting sites tip the Canadiens amongst the middleweights in the Eastern Conference, and a good distance behind top faves like the Lightning or Toronto Maples, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, to name a few. The Canadiens were definitely beneficiaries of the unprecedented Covid-19 era, reaching the Stanley Cup finals against the NHL odds. But it seems like a return to the championship round isn’t on the cards, at least not as things currently stack up in the markets.
Earlier this month, the league announced that NHL players will get the chance to fly the flag for their countries at the 2020 Beijing Olympics. A decision that was welcomed by many players around the league from different nationalities.
The NHL, NHLPA and IIHF came to an agreement that will facilitate player participation in the Winter Games. The 2021-22 NHL schedule will feature a pause from February 7 to 22 for the Beijing Olympics. The first men’s game is scheduled to get underway on February 9 and the gold medal game will take place on February 20.
Bo Hovart of the Vancouver Canucks praised the decision, saying “Everybody wants to represent their country, everybody wants to play in the Olympics,”
The Vancouver Canucks captain previously competed at the 2018 IIHF World Championship for Canada, but has yet to participate in the Olympics.
According to Horvat, support for Olympic participation was widespread amongst players in the league. “I think that’s a big thing we wanted, not only for ourselves to represent our country, but to grow the game,” said Horvat. Adding “it’s great for us as players to represent our countries, so we’re excited about it.”
The NHL’s agreement comes with a caveat that allows the league to pull the plug on the Winter Games. It could prevent NHL players from participating in Beijing if the coronavirus pandemic worsens or poses a threat to the health and safety of all those concerned in the league or for any reason that would be deemed as an impediment to the 2021-22 NHL season.
The NHL first open the door in 1998 to NHL players participating in the Olympics. That year, the Czech Republic won the gold medal in Nagano. Canada won gold in Salt Lake City (2002), Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014). Sweden won the gold in Turin (2006).
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