The end-of-year readers mailbag blog will be delayed to first take a deeper look at the great news of the NHL finalizing and approving its plans for the new season.
Instead of posting a litany of tweets, for ease of reading I will summarize news and information shared by the following people and sites who are sources of the details provided below (Twitter handles in parentheses):
* Frank Seravalli @frank_seravalli
* Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
* John Shannon @JShannonhl
* Chris Johnston @reporterchris
* Patrick Williams @pwilliamsNHL
* David Pagnotta @TheFourthPeriod
* Cap Friendly @CapFriendly
What do the NHL’s plans for the long-awaited season mean for the Blackhawks? Management has talked the talk so time is coming for the team to finally walk the walk.
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Schedule
Details:
* December 31: training camp opens for non-RTP teams
* January 3: training camp opens for RTP teams
* January 13: regular season begins
* April 12: trade deadline
* May 8: regular season end
* July 15: last possible game of the Stanley Cup Finals
* July 17: teams submit exposure lists for expansion
* July 21: expansion draft
* July 23-24: entry draft
* July 28: free agency period
(RTP = "return to play" for the 2020 postseason)
There will be no preseason games.
The 56-game regular season schedule for each team to be released later this week.
It is expected that the 2021-22 season will return to the traditional timeline and format, i.e. 82-game regular season starting in early October.
Commentary:
With training camp set to start on January 3, it is expected that any players in Europe either on loan or simply training there will be back in the U.S. before then and ready to participate.
Kirby Dach is the only outlier as the WJC gold-medal game is slated for January 5. If Team Canada advances to the championship game, then he would join camp a few days later.
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Divisions
Details:
North
* Canadiens
* Canucks
* Flames
* Jets
* Maple Leafs
* Oilers
* Senators
West
* Avalanche
* Blues
* Coyotes
* Ducks
* Golden Knights
* Kings
* Sharks
* Wild
Central
* Blackhawks
* Blue Jackets
* Hurricanes
* Lightning
* Panthers
* Predators
* Red Wings
* Stars
East
* Bruins
* Capitals
* Devils
* Flyers
* Islanders
* Penguins
* Rangers
* Sabres
Teams in the West, Central, and East Divisions will play each other 8 times.
Teams in the North Division will play each other 9 or 10 times.
It should be noted that Canadian provincial officials have still not signed off on NHL protocols. It is doubtful that the divisions would realign again if those opposing provinces don't approve.
If this is the case, the Canadian teams may be forced to play their games in the U.S. or to Canadian provinces where they would be cleared to play.
Commentary:
While it's odd to not be in the same division as the Blues -- and to a lesser extent the Avs and Wild -- it's awesome to be facing the Wings as divisional foes again.
At least the rivalry against the Predators stays intact. The Stars are the other holdover from the pre-pandemic version of the Central Division.
Squaring off 8 times against Joel Quenneville's Panthers will be a welcome challenge and so will having the reigning Cup champion Lightning as a measuring stick opponent.
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Playoffs
Details:
* 16 teams, 4 rounds, best-of-7 series
* Top 4 teams per division make the playoffs
* First 2 rounds within own division
* Conference Finals seeding based on regular-season points
* The playoffs will end by mid-July
Commentary:
It remains to be seen whether this format is better than having the top 3 teams per division plus 2 wild-card teams make the playoffs in each conference.
Either way, the Hawks may have a fighting chance to snag a playoff berth. The Lightning and Hurricanes are virtual locks. After them, the other spots are up for grabs.
Despite being in the Cup Finals, the Stars aren't necessarily a given as a middle-of-the-pack team along with the Jackets, Panthers, and Predators.
If their youth movements click, the Hawks and Wings could easily be in the mix for the 3rd and 4th spots as much as battle for rights to be cellar dwellers.
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Training Camp
Details:
Each team can invite 36 skaters plus an unlimited number of goalies.
Commentary:
Here's a stab at who could comprise the invite list to training camp:
Centers (5)
* Kirby Dach
* David Kampf
* Dylan Strome
* Jonathan Toews
* Lucas Wallmark
Wingers (17)
* Ryan Carpenter
* Alex DeBrincat
* MacKenzie Entwistle
* Brandon Hagel
* Matthew Highmore
* Mattias Janmark
* Reese Johnson
* Patrick Kane
* Dominik Kubalik
* Philipp Kurashev
* Alex Nylander
* Brandon Pirri
* John Quenneville
* Andrew Shaw
* Zack Smith
* Tim Soderlund
* Pius Suter
Defensemen (14)
* Nicolas Beaudin
* Adam Boqvist
* Lucas Carlsson
* Calvin de Haan
* Wyatt Kalynuk
* Duncan Keith
* Chad Krys
* Anton Lindholm
* Ian Mitchell
* Connor Murphy
* Alec Regula
* Brent Seabrook
* Nick Seeler
* Nikita Zadorov
Goalies (5)
* Collin Delia
* Kevin Lankinen
* Cale Morris
* Malcolm Subban
* Matt Tomkins
If Smith or anyone else isn't ready to go, consider Andrei Altybarmakyan, Evan Barratt, Matej Chalupa, Mikael Hakkarainen, or Michel Teply.
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Roster
Details:
* $81.5 million salary cap
* 23 players on the active roster
* 4-6 players on the taxi squad
All players (active roster + taxi squad) will travel and practice with the NHL team.
Players will have the option to opt-out for the upcoming season. Details still forthcoming.
Each team is required to carry at least 3 goalies total between the active roster and taxi squad.
For rookies on ELCs, the first year slides if they play less than 7 games (previously 10 games).
Commentary:
It's pretty much a given now that the Hawks will carry Subban, Delia, and Lankinen as the 3 goalies which assigns Tomkins and Morris as the Hogs tenders.
An alternative would be swapping in Tomkins for either Delia or Lankinen in order to be the Hogs starter and get in as many reps as possible.
Otherwise, the 3rd string for the Hawks won't get much playing time.
With that said, here is an early forecast of the active roster and taxi squad:
Centers (5)
* Kirby Dach
* David Kampf
* Dylan Strome
* Jonathan Toews
* Lucas Wallmark
Wingers (8)
* Ryan Carpenter
* Alex DeBrincat
* Mattias Janmark
* Patrick Kane
* Dominik Kubalik
* Alex Nylander
* Andrew Shaw
* Pius Suter
Defensemen (8)
* Adam Boqvist
* Lucas Carlsson
* Calvin de Haan
* Duncan Keith
* Ian Mitchell
* Connor Murphy
* Brent Seabrook
* Nikita Zadorov
Goalies (2)
* Collin Delia
* Malcolm Subban
Taxi Squad (6)
* Kevin Lankinen
* Anton Lindholm
* Brandon Pirri
* John Quenneville
* Nick Seeler
* Zack Smith
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Taxi Squad
Details:
Click here to view taxi squad details per CapFriendly.
A taxi squad player is paid full AHL salary.
The CBA has been revised to integrate flexibility for emergency recalls.
More information is forthcoming about limits on how long a team can keep players on the taxi squad without dressing them for a game.
Commentary:
One thing to keep in mind is that prospects with the greatest potential to be impact players for the Hawks in the long term aren’t necessarily the players you want on the taxi squad since they would only be practicing and not play regularly in games whether in the NHL or AHL.
However, if it’s relatively easy for a taxi squad player to switch places with a teammate on the active roster without an injury occurring, then an alternate taxi squad roster could insert Highmore and Hagel instead of Pirri and Quenneville.
If not, though, Highmore and Hagel are better off being regulars in Rockford’s top 6. Pirri isn’t going to develop much more in the AHL and Quenneville is just a placeholder until he finds a new home next season. Waivers also need to be considered.
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Travel
Details:
So far it seems that the travel protocol strictly limits players to be at only the game rink, practice rink, and team hotel.
All meals are to be served and eaten at the team hotel.
If a team has to temporarily relocate due to COVID restrictions, players may have a hotel room for them and their family.
The family may also have a rental car and parking.
Players also receive per diem in the city of relocation even when they are the home team.
If relocation is to exceed 28 days, additional benefits will be discussed.
Commentary:
These are interesting tidbits to know with players as well as coaches and other team personnel still being at the mercy of the pandemic.
Who knows if any teams will get decimated by the virus and have to dip deeper and deeper into their farm systems to ice enough players for games.
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Fans & Ads
Details:
Having fans in attendance is dependent on state and county regulations so this varies team to team. Most teams including the Blackhawks haven't made a determination yet.
The Stars, on the other hand, are permitting up to 5,000 fans in the stands to start the season. The two Florida teams will likely have fans in the stands, too.
Also, teams are able to put ads on helmets but supposedly only for this season.
Commentary:
As much as eyes will be on Stan Bowman to see how he manages player personnel over the course of the season, eyes will also be on Jaime Faulkner to see how she engages the fanbase if the United Center must remain empty during games.
In terms of ads on helmets, it's a source of revenue while the league and teams are hurting financially. It's good to know that the ads are reportedly temporary.
But you never know, this could be a financial boon for corporate partnerships. Give them an inch and next thing it turns into a mile with ads on other parts of the uniform.
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Readers Q&A Mailbag
There’s still time! If you have any questions you want to ask about the Blackhawks or IceHogs, please send me a private message or email me at
[email protected].
All questions will be answered and featured in the upcoming mailbag blog to bid adieu to 2020. Thank you to those who have submitted questions already!
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See you on the boards!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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