Update on 2021 NHL season, Stanley Cup odds

The strange offseason continues for the NHL, and there has still been no determination on what the league will be doing as it looks to forward to the 2021 season. The NHL Draft went by without a hitch, and the league is in the middle of free agency season. When we will get to see those new free agent signings remains to be seen.

The 2019-20 season was temporarily shut down for roughly four months as the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to plenty of sports around the world till the leagues deemed it safe enough to return. The NHL and NBA returned in similar fashion as they created a bubble-like atmosphere, and both finished successfully.

The question now is what the NHL season will look like moving forward. The bubble system was a solid short-term solution, but we’ll see what the league decides to do.

The 2020-21 regular season had been scheduled to start in October 2020 and finish in April 2021. That obviously will not be the case as the Stanley Cup trophy was just handed out last month as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in six games.

Any update on 2021?

At this point, it is still uncertain when the 2021 NHL season will begin, though the most recent reported start date for the season is Jan. 1, 2021. In an article that appeared on The Star, the league had considered beginning the season at Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. The report also said the NHL is considering regular season formats that would include 48, 60 and the regular 82 games.

The league is also reportedly keeping in mind when it might allow fans to provide teams with an extra financial boost when it comes to determining when the season should get started. In addition, the NHL will also have to deal with this summer being an Olympic year, so there are a lot of moving parts as the league tries to put together a plan moving forward.

Additional notes for the schedule includes the NHL recently canceling the Winter Classic as well as the All-Star Weekend because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Minnesota Wild were scheduled to face the St. Louis Blues at Target Field in Minneapolis on Jan. 1, 2021. The Florida Panthers were set to host the 2021 All-Star Weekend at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida the weekend of Jan. 29-30, 2021.

In this release, the NHL reiterated its desire to get the season started on Jan. 1, 2021.

NHL announces postponement of Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend. https://t.co/sOcHxLGDtz #WinterClassic #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/eYDzN8WBiC

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 22, 2020

2020-21 NHL Futures Odds

While the NHL season is still a ways away from getting started and the answers remain unclear, sports bettors have the opportunity to make a wager on which teams will break through and hoist the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup trophy. The bets available include which team will ultimately win the Eastern Conference in addition to the Western Conference as well as a futures bet to decide which team will win it all next season.

All NHL odds are via a popular United States sportsbook. Check PlayCanada articles throughout the offseason as trades, free agent signings and injuries should impact the latest NHL Stanley Cup futures odds.

Eastern Conference Winner