Vegas Golden Knights: Thrashing out what the 2020-21 NHL season could look like

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Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Colorado Avalanche

A general view of the opening face-off of overtime in a Western Conference Round Robin game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /

Division Realignment

One big rumor doing the rounds in NHL land recently has revolved around a potential tinkering of the Divisions in the league.

Realignment is the buzzword right now and it seems likely that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will look to reduce travel as much as possible.

One radical suggestion has been an all-Canadian division, which seems feasible given that the border is currently shut and isn’t likely to open by Jan. 1, 2021, unless something dramatic happens when it comes to a vaccine.

It was even put out there by Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, who told the Vegas Hockey Hotline with Brian Blessing that he thinks a Canadian division is likely, which would mean that the Knights wouldn’t be facing regular Pacific Division rivals the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers or the Calgary Flames during the 2020-21 regular season.

In one concept that was doing the rounds on Twitter, this is what the NHL landscape could look like in 2020-21:

Canadian Division:

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

Western Division:

Vegas Golden Knights
San Jose Sharks
LA Kings
Arizona Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Minnesota Wild
Dallas Stars

Southern Division:

Carolina Hurricanes
Tampa Bay Lightning
Columbus Blue Jackets
Florida Panthers
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues

Eastern Division

New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
Buffalo Sabres
Washington Capitals
Boston Bruins

Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores on a penalty-shot past Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /

Now, there are different variations of this including the Metropolitan Division remaining as it is currently constituted, and the St. Louis Blues ending up in the same Division as the Golden Knights.

What is interesting going by the model we mapped out above, is that the Golden Knights could still find themselves in the same Division as another Stanley Cup contender in the Colorado Avalanche, who are an absolute juggernaut themselves.

It would certainly be an arms race between the Knights and the Avs for the Western Division, and it would certainly provide entertaining viewing for neutral hockey fans.

With the Dallas Stars, who reached the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final, also in the Division, the Golden Knights will have a much tougher road to the Division Title, but they will likely have to get past Colorado and Dallas if they want to reach the Stanley Cup Final anyway.

One other suggestion to try and reduce travel in the NHL in 2020-21 is for teams to visit each team in their Division for a three-game series played over four or five days, like they do in Major League Baseball.

It is important to note that none of the above is concrete but, with the country unlikely to be in a better place in regards to COVID-19 by January, it is likely that reducing travel will be a major priority for the NHL so don’t be surprised if the Golden Knights end up in a Division that has a different look to it in 2020-21.

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