Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - A detailed idea regarding getting the NHL back to playing Oct-Jun for 2023-24

Crown Royal · 09-19-2020, 07:56 PM

This is new for me, starting a thread that is. This will also be quite a long post, I will format best I can to make it easy to read. Please bare with me....... or is it bear?

So, as we all have heard the NHL doesn't want to play a reduced schedule. They want to play a complete 82 game schedule and full playoffs for the 2020-21 season, I think that if this is their view on next season it is fair to assume this will be their view in subsequent seasons too.

We've heard rumblings and talk of a condensed schedule, but we have seen how it could work, that is what this idea is. A 3 year plan to get the NHL back to normal.

For all 3 years, the plan is to have a 165-167 day regular season, rather than the approximate 200 days a normal season is. This will be achieved by eliminating the bye-week, the all-star break and scheduling teams to play approximately every other day.

Here goes nothing....
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Year 1: 2020-2021 Season

Temporary divisional re-alignment and a divisional schedule
With the likelihood of the border still being closed, I am proposing 4 new divisions and a schedule with only intra-divisional play. The US divisions could be adjusted, as I don't think there is an ideal geographical way to split them into 3 divisions of 8.

Canadian Division

Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets

Western Division

Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights

Central Division

Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues

Eastern Division

Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals

Canadian Division Schedule

14 games vs. 4 teams
13 games vs. 2 teams

American Divisions Schedule

12 games vs. 5 teams
11 games vs. 2 teams

Playoff Format

Round One (Division Semi-Final): 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 in each division
Round Two (Division Final): 2 remaining teams in each division
Round Three (Stanley Cup Semi-Final): Remaining teams are reseeded, with 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3
Stanley Cup Finals: Final 2 teams

Important Dates

Regular Season starts January 2, 2021
Regular season ends June 15, 2021
Playoffs start June 18, 3021
Playoffs last potential end date, August 18, 2021
Expansion Draft, September 3, 2021
Entry Draft, September 10/11, 2021
Free Agency, September 15, 2021

Year 2: 2021-2022 Season

Divisional re-alignment and a divisional schedule
Divisions return to normal, but with the Seattle Kraken joining the Pacific Division, the Arizona Coyotes move to the Central Division. The schedule will only consist of intra-conference games.

Schedule

6 games vs own division
5 games against other division in own conference

Playoff Format

Returns to current playoff format

Important Dates

Regular Season starts December 1, 2021
Regular season ends May 16, 2022
Playoffs start May 19, 2022
Playoffs last potential end date, July 19, 2022
Entry Draft, July 22/23, 2022
Free Agency, August 1st, 2022

Year 3: 2022-2023 Season

Divisional re-alignment and a divisional schedule
Same as 2021-22

Schedule

6 games vs own division
5 games against other division in own conference

Playoff Format

Current playoff format

Important Dates

Regular Season starts November 1, 2022
Regular season ends April 16, 2023
Playoffs start April 19, 2023
Playoffs last potential end date, June 19, 2023
Entry Draft, June 23/24, 2023
Free Agency, July 1st, 2023

Year 4: 2023-2024 Season - A return to normal
Schedule

Return to 84 game schedule
4 games vs own division
3 games vs other division in conference
2 games vs other conference

Playoff Format

Return to Conference playoff 1 vs 8 format, re-seeding each round
Division winners guaranteed a top 4 seed in conference

Important Dates

Return to normal

09-19-2020, 07:56 PM	#1
Crown Royal Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Mar 2019 Exp:	A detailed idea regarding getting the NHL back to playing Oct-Jun for 2023-24 This is new for me, starting a thread that is. This will also be quite a long post, I will format best I can to make it easy to read. Please bare with me....... or is it bear? So, as we all have heard the NHL doesn't want to play a reduced schedule. They want to play a complete 82 game schedule and full playoffs for the 2020-21 season, I think that if this is their view on next season it is fair to assume this will be their view in subsequent seasons too. We've heard rumblings and talk of a condensed schedule, but we have seen how it could work, that is what this idea is. A 3 year plan to get the NHL back to normal. For all 3 years, the plan is to have a 165-167 day regular season, rather than the approximate 200 days a normal season is. This will be achieved by eliminating the bye-week, the all-star break and scheduling teams to play approximately every other day. Here goes nothing.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 1: 2020-2021 Season Temporary divisional re-alignment and a divisional schedule With the likelihood of the border still being closed, I am proposing 4 new divisions and a schedule with *only intra-divisional play. The US divisions could be adjusted, as I don't think there is an ideal geographical way to split them into 3 divisions of 8. Canadian Division* Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets Western Division Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights Central Division Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues Eastern Division Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals Canadian Division Schedule 14 games vs. 4 teams 13 games vs. 2 teams American Divisions Schedule 12 games vs. 5 teams 11 games vs. 2 teams Playoff Format Round One (Division Semi-Final): 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 in each division Round Two (Division Final): 2 remaining teams in each division Round Three (Stanley Cup Semi-Final): Remaining teams are reseeded, with 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 Stanley Cup Finals: Final 2 teams Important Dates Regular Season starts January 2, 2021 Regular season ends June 15, 2021 Playoffs start June 18, 3021 Playoffs last potential end date, August 18, 2021 Expansion Draft, September 3, 2021 Entry Draft, September 10/11, 2021 Free Agency, September 15, 2021 Year 2: 2021-2022 Season Divisional re-alignment and a divisional schedule Divisions return to normal, but with the Seattle Kraken joining the Pacific Division, the Arizona Coyotes move to the Central Division. The schedule will only consist of intra-conference games. Schedule 6 games vs own division 5 games against other division in own conference Playoff Format Returns to current playoff format Important Dates Regular Season starts December 1, 2021 Regular season ends May 16, 2022 Playoffs start May 19, 2022 Playoffs last potential end date, July 19, 2022 Entry Draft, July 22/23, 2022 Free Agency, August 1st, 2022 Year 3: 2022-2023 Season Divisional re-alignment and a divisional schedule Same as 2021-22 Schedule 6 games vs own division 5 games against other division in own conference Playoff Format Current playoff format Important Dates Regular Season starts November 1, 2022 Regular season ends April 16, 2023 Playoffs start April 19, 2023 Playoffs last potential end date, June 19, 2023 Entry Draft, June 23/24, 2023 Free Agency, July 1st, 2023 Year 4: 2023-2024 Season - A return to normal Schedule Return to 84 game schedule 4 games vs own division 3 games vs other division in conference 2 games vs other conference Playoff Format Return to Conference playoff 1 vs 8 format, re-seeding each round Division winners guaranteed a top 4 seed in conference Important Dates Return to normal