Montreal Canadiens: NHL releases dates for the trade deadline and others

More information is being released about the 2020/21 NHL season, and we now have some key dates for the Montreal Canadiens to circle on their calendars.

If everything was on its normal timeline, we would’ve had all this information at an earlier…date, but this year in the NHL has been far from normal. The NHL confirmed an NHL start date of January 13th as well as the alignment of the league, but there are still things we need to know. Thankfully that information is continuing to come out, and the Montreal Canadiens have a number of dates they need to circle.

All this information came from Pierre Lebrun, who has been on the ball with letting the public know what is going on. The first big date is the trade deadline, set for April 21st.

The Monreal Canadiens are in a good position to be one of the four teams to make the playoffs from the Canadian division. If so, Marc Bergevin may want to put his buyer’s hat on. That may be a little complicated with border travel, but there are possible players teams may already have their eye on.

The first player that comes to mind is Taylor Hall. Word was out that Hall wouldn’t be opposed to signing a short term deal with a team to pursue a championship. That put teams like the Colorado Avalanche in the driver’s seat, which confused many as the 2010 first overall pick chose to sign a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

It will be difficult for the Sabres to have a positive season, considering the competition they have in their division. That makes Hall a prime target at the deadline. Imagine if the Montreal Canadiens are in need of more firepower to make a pitch?

The regular season is set to end May 8th, while the final date to award the Stanley Cup is July 15th. With the Tokyo Olympics starting this summer, the NHL wants the season to end before then as NBC, one of their distributors, has NBC will be all over the Olympics.

Then comes the dreaded Expansion Draft. The rules of who and who is not exempt are the same as the Vegas expansion, so it will be interesting to see who the Montreal Canadiens lose to the Seattle Kraken.

The 2021 NHL Draft is July 23rd and 24th. The Montreal Canadiens were supposed to host the 2020 Draft, so it would make sense for the organization to get this one. But nothing has been confirmed.

Finally, Free Agent Frenzy is on July 28th. With the salary cap staying flat for the next set of years, it may impact the splashes we see on that day, but who knows.

It’s going to be a high-paced season where all these dates come at us quickly. Personally, the trade deadline is the one that stands out. Bergevin does have a knack for letting the team figure things out on their own, as Tomas Vanek was his biggest deadline back in 2014. Will that change?