Updated deadlines for the Montreal Canadiens to pay attention to
The return of the 2019-20 NHL season is right around the corner, and the league finally has confirmed dates for the Montreal Canadiens to look forward to.
July hit and waves of information regarding the NHL and its Return to Play Plan hit the waves. Before, it was only rumblings and optimistic gestures to talk about, and now we have confirmed dates for the Montreal Canadiens to prepare for.
This all comes from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who doesn’t look as if he’s close to retirement at all with the amount of information he’s been sharing with the hockey world. Wednesday saw a number of dates put out on Insider Trading. Most of these have already been shared via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman right after the chaos that was the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery.
For starters, the updated date for the opening of training camp – Phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan – is now July 13th. It was initially believed that it would be the 10th, but Friedman hinted on the date being pushed back with the NHL and NHLPA taking more time to vote on hub cities and decide on the new CBA.
The 13th seems to be the spot now as it’s all but confirmed that Toronto and Edmonton would be the hub cities for the restart of the 2019-20 season. Additionally, the latter of the two cities is going to be the one to host the Stanley Cup Final.
With Edmonton and Toronto being chosen as the two NHL Hub cities, the question most often asked now is, which of the two will play host to the Stanley Cup final and Conference finals?
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 2, 2020
The answer, apparently, is Edmonton.
So whether the Oilers make it all the way or not, the Rogers Arena is going to see the Stanley Cup be wheeled onto the ice.
Training camp will then last two weeks, with teams having to report to their respective hub city by July 26th. Eastern Conference teams will go to Toronto while Western Conference teams go to Edmonton. The last time the Montreal Canadiens were at Scotiabank Arena, they got a big 6-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the shootout, whereas Ilya Kovalchuk got the final dagger against them in February. And if rekindling those feelings helps the Habs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, then take in all you can (non-tank take).
Teams are going to have five days to prepare as the target date for Phase 4 is August 1st. This is two days after those initial predictions from Friedman and likely a result of the delayed voting.
Then comes the Second Draft Lottery. Remember that?
Since Team E won the First Draft Lottery, we still don’t know who is going to get the first overall pick. All we know is that it’ll be one of the eight teams who do not win their Stanley Cup Qualifier series. That wild event is set to take place on August 10th, and if the Montreal Canadiens are one of those teams, they’ll have a 12.5% chance to win. Pessimistically, if the NHL doesn’t resume, the Habs will still be included in that draft lottery with the same odds.
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McKenzie didn’t include a date, but with the lottery being on the 10th, we can assume that the official beginning of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be on the 11th or 12th.
As for a team actually winning the championship, that is going to happen in early October. That’s semi-consistent with Friedman’s report, which stated October 5th as being the last possible day for the Stanley Cup Final. Again, the push of training camp is going to have a domino effect.
Then comes the actual NHL Draft expected to be in mid-October, which aligns with the NBA’s draft. We’ll see Alexis Lafrenière go to whoever Team E ends up being, but that could also be the first time since the deadline where we see trades. Player transaction is a given at the draft, but this year’s might see even more with the flat cap coming into effect for the next 2-3 years.
The Montreal Canadiens are going to be a point of interest as they have cap space -despite having players to resign – and means of creating more space. Marc Bergevin may be prompted to take on contracts for buyouts in exchange for assets. Think back to Joel Armia. The Habs’ ability to take on and buyout Steve Mason‘s deal made that trade happen, and now he’s a key name on the roster.
Where the NHL diverges from the NBA is with free agency. The NBA is opening up their market days after the draft while, according to McKenzie, free agency will open on November 1st, five months after the normal date.
That’s going to be another chaotic day for the NHL. There are going to be players who thought they would cash in heavily this summer who may have to take a seat back. At the same time, there may be teams who didn’t think they would be in on free agency, but may now be with the decreasing competition.
If this ends up being the entire timeline for the completion of the 2019-20 season, that will likely have the 2020-21 season begin in January with a probably shortened schedule.
The last time the Montreal Canadiens played a shortened schedule was the 2012-13 season, where the Habs finished 1st in the Atlantic Division. Max Pacioretty led the team in scoring with 15 goals and 39 points while P.K. Subban won the Norris Trophy on a newly signed bridge contract.
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That seems to be the schedule, and hopefully, it sticks to that. It’s been hard not having an escape, but if things are what they seem, it’ll be another four weeks before things kick-off for real this time.