In the midst of all the mayhem around the expansion draft, the entry draft and free agency, the NHL also dropped its schedule for the 2021-22 season.
Today, I'll take a bit of a macro look at what's on tap as we return to 82 games, regular division and conference formats, and the break for the Olympics and the All-Star Game that's baked in.
Later, I'll analyze the Canucks' regular-season schedule detail — road trips, back-to-backs, and all that good stuff — as well as breaking down what's on tap for the AHL Abbotsford Canucks.
Training Camp: September 23-25 in Abbotsford
Training camp is opening a little later than usual. The last 'normal' training camp, in Victoria in 2019, ran from Sept. 13-15. That was preceded by three days of on-ice work for the prospects at Rogers Arena, from Sept. 7-9.
Before the pandemic, there had been talk that the Young Stars tournament would be returning to Penticton in the summer of 2020. Obviously, that's all still on hold for now. But if all goes well, there's a strong possibility that it could be back in 2022.
Though they'll be able to keep a closer watch on their prospects in Abbotsford next season, I'd expect the Canucks will once again look to do some on-ice prospects sessions before camp officially opens. I wonder if it will be downtown or out in Abbotsford?
And I wonder what media access will look like next season? I noticed on Friday that while the Saskatchewan Roughriders had a sold-out crowd of 33,350 in the stands at Mosaic Stadium for their season-opening win over the B.C. Lions in the CFL, post-game media was still being done by video.
Perhaps unsurprisingly,
Mike Russo of The Athletic reported on Friday that the increase in Covid cases on both sides of the border has led the NHL to introduce new directives, effective immediately, prohibiting organized interactions with fans, including things like handshake lines and speaking engagements.
On his home turf in Minnesota, Russo says Da Beauty League is looking for clarification on how it's expected to operate. Up-close fan interaction is a big part of that event, especially giving kids a chance to meet NHL stars.
It's a developing situation, as they say.
Preseason: Sept. 26 - Oct. 9
Not having a preseason definitely hurt the Canucks last year. Travis Green has become known for making important roster decisions based on performances in camp and in preseason games. Last year, he was flying blind.
This year, Green will get seven games to assess his dramatically reconfigured group, with none of those infernal split-squad games and only one back-to-back.
The schedule opens in Spokane on Sept. 26, with the first-ever game for the Seattle Kraken. One night later, the Canucks will return to Abbotsford to host the Calgary Flames.
Then, I imagine the first cuts will be made. There's a three-day break before the club travels to Calgary to face the Flames again on October 1.
After that, the Canucks will hit the ice at Rogers Arena for the first time, hosting Winnipeg in a Sunday afternoon game on Oct. 3 and Seattle on Oct. 5. Then, the schedule concludes with a home-and-home series against Edmonton — on the road on Oct. 7, then back at Rogers Arena for a 6 p.m. start on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Regular Season: Oct. 13, 2021 - April 29, 2022
Like I said earlier — 82 games, cross-border travel, regular divisional format. The only change will be that Seattle is in the Pacific Division now, while Arizona has been bumped over to the Central. That means we'll see a little less of new Coyotes Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle than you might be expecting.
Usually, the regular season begins on the first Wednesday in October. That's bumped back by one week this year. But the 82-game campaign usually wraps by the first week of April. After wrapping the regular season in mid-May this year, the league has elected to let the 2021-22 season run until the end of April. That's to allow time for the 2022 All-Star Game and the Olympic Break.
Nothing is finalized yet on NHL Olympic participation, but the league is adhering to the promise that it made in the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding, that it is making its best effort to accommodate the players' wishes and make it happen.
If the planning does fall apart and the break is not needed, the back part of the NHL schedule could still be adjusted.
Here's how the league explained the situation in its press release on July 22:
No final agreement or decision has been made to this point regarding the possible participation of NHL Players in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Talks remain ongoing. Subject to reaching agreement with the NHL Players’ Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation on all outstanding issues, including appropriate COVID-19 insurance for NHL Players, the League has agreed, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, to pause from Feb. 7-22, 2022 to accommodate NHL Player participation in the Olympic Games. The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association will retain full authority to decide not to participate should COVID-19 conditions worsen or otherwise pose a threat to the health and safety of NHL Players, or for any other reason that may warrant such decision. In the event NHL Players participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics, the NHL regular season will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 23. If, for whatever reason, there is no NHL Player participation in the Olympics, a revised Regular Season schedule will be released which, to the greatest extent possible, will adopt the dates and games reflected in the schedule contemplating Olympic participation.
Right now, there's a three-week gap in the schedule, with no games between Wednesday, Feb. 2 and Wednesday, Feb. 23. All-Star Weekend is scheduled for Feb. 4-5 in Vegas. I assume the plan as it stands right now is to gather all the top players in Vegas for that event, fulfilling the league's obligations to its broadcast partners and corporate sponsors. Then, already out west, the Olympians would charter together from Vegas to Beijing.
The Games are scheduled from Feb. 4-20, but according to the
schedule page on Olympics.com, the men's tournament will run only for the last few days, from Feb. 15-20. That leaves lots of time for players to travel, quarantine and practice before a flurry of knockout games.
Click here for the full explanation of the format, from the IIHF. To put it simply, round-robin play is out the window this time around.
Twelve teams will participate, and they've been assigned to three four-team groups. Canada, seeded first, is in Group A along with the U.S. (6), Germany (7) and China (12).
The top part of the rest of the field is made up of the usual suspects: in order, ROC (Russia), Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, with Switzerland seeded eighth behind the U.S. and Germany.
Seeds nine through 11 are going to be determined through three regional qualifying tournaments at the end of this month. The top team from each group will advance:
Group D: Slovakia, Belarus, Austria, Poland
Group E: Latvia, France, Italy, Hungary
Group F: Norway, Denmark, Korea, Slovenia
When the Olympic tournament begins on Feb. 15, the top four teams will receive a bye into the quarterfinals, while the bottom eight will play a one-game knockout in the 'qualification' round.
The qualifying teams that advance will have the odds stacked against them when they play the highest-seeded teams in the quarterfinals the very next day. But those higher-seeded teams will be playing their first games of the tournament. Instant chemistry will be required!
In two days, 12 teams will be whittled down to four. The semifinals will be played on Feb. 18, the bronze-medal game on the 19th, and the gold-medal match is set for the last day of competition, Feb. 20.
If you take a look at the
Overview page for the Beijing Games, one of the first things you'll see is the famous picture of Sidney Crosby celebrating his Golden Goal.
The accompanying article touts "the likely return of elite NHL talent to Olympic hockey," and suggests that Canada will be back in the driver's seat following their bronze medal with non-NHL players in Pyeongchang in 2018.
If it does occur, a tournament that short could feel anticlimactic — and could certainly deliver some unexpected upsets. But the scheduling does work with the NHL's needs. So — Covid willing — maybe we really will see NHL players back at the Olympics next year.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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