Late Friday evening, the NHL and NHLPA reached a tentative agreement on a 56 game season for 2020/21 — by which I mean the 2021 season. It’s tentative because a lot still needs to be finalized and voted on, including where all the teams are going to be playing.
They may start in hubs, but the would-be Canadian division has to find a province that will approve that. There may be “tolled” contracts if a player decides to sit the season out, so it wouldn’t count as a year played and he wouldn’t get paid for the season.