Of important note from MLive’s Ansar Khan:
The NHL and NHLPA will release the health and safety protocols, transition rules and critical dates calendar as well as the 2020-21 schedule in the coming days.
Here is a list of some of those significant dates, according to Sportsnet.ca and tsa.ca:
Start of training camp for non-playoff teams: Dec. 31
Start of training camp for playoff teams: Jan. 3
Trade deadline: April 12
End of regular season: May 8
Date for teams to submit protected lists for expansion draft: July 17
Seattle expansion draft: July 21
Entry draft: July 23-24
Start of free agency: July 28
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, players on the Red Wings and six other non-playoff teams have until Thursday to decide whether to opt-out of the season or attend training camp while others have until Dec. 27 to decide.
Teams have the option to “toll” the contracts of players who opt out, meaning they will own their rights for another season.
Shown is a calendar of critical dates for the upcoming NHL 2020-21 seasonhttps://t.co/3B8UOBLIyt pic.twitter.com/fwGWRboLge
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 20, 2020
So teams have the option to toll or not toll? Toll the players they want to keep and burn a year on players they don’t?
The Player’s Association going with that is a surprising option. Thought it would be one or the other not either/or.
Teams have the option to toll or not toll a player who opts out of the season. That’s what Khan means.