- How Many Cfl Teams Make The Playoffs
- How Many Cfl Teams Make The Playoffs 2018
- Cfl Teams List
- Cfl Playoffs 2020
Hockey is coming back this winter! On Sunday, the NHL and NHLPA announced the formalized plans for the 2020–21 season — though it’s really the 2021 season, since it’s beginning on Jan. 13.
Things are going to look different though, as the league navigates playing 868 games over 116 days amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In the NHL, teams that win the Stanley Cup get get $1,000,000 to split amongst the players; with a 23-man roster, that’s a $43,478 per player maximum, just 1.9 times the CFL bonus (and that’s for playoffs that have up to 28 games and take three months, while the CFL playoffs have a maximum of three games and take less than a month). A second place finish also secures a team a playoff game in its own backyard and a third place finish gives you a shot of winning three road games to take home the championship, most recently.
Here’s everything we know — and what we still need to know — about how the league plans on pulling it off.
When will the season begin?
Training camps will begin on Jan. 3, though the seven teams that did not qualify for the 2020 postseason are allowed to open camp on Dec. 31. Teams are able to invite 36 skaters and an unlimited number of goalies to camp.
Over the past several weeks, players have been migrating from their offseason homes to playing cities; that includes several players (like Toronto’s Joe Thornton) who had been playing for European teams to stay sharp during the extended pause. There are still some players who need to travel back — and potentially serve quarantines before getting on the ice, depending on local restrictions. According to the agreement, those players would receive per diems as they quarantine.
Because of the condensed schedule, there won’t be any preseason games. Jumping straight into game action could mean we get some wonky upsets the first couple of weeks, but hey, nothing could be wonkier than 2020. The NHL says it will release full schedules ‘in the coming days.’
What does the divisional realignment look like?
Here are the new divisions:
North: Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks
East: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
Central: Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning
West: Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues
As you can see, the NHL opted not to get too creative with names — fans will inevitably call the all-Canadian group the #WeTheNorth Division, borrowing from the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
All teams will play only divisional opponents in the regular season. Teams in the North division will play each other nine or 10 times, while everyone else will face their divisional opponents eight times.
The realignment was necessitated by the Canadian border remaining closed to nonessential business, the same reason why the Raptors are beginning their season in Tampa, Florida. But there’s an added benefit, too: The NHL shifting exclusively to intradivisional play for this season also minimizes travel, which helps reduce costs, as well as potential spread of the virus.
Where will teams play?
The hope is for all teams to play in their own arenas, though we’ve already hit some snags. The biggest issue so far has come in Canada. Some provincial health authorities aren’t enthused about entire teams flying in and out of provinces throughout the year.
According to sources, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec have yet to sign off on their teams (the Canucks, Maple Leafs, Senators and Canadiens) hosting home games. Conversations between those governments and the NHL will continue this week. If agreements can’t be reached, it’s possible those teams could play in a hybrid hub (most likely in Edmonton, where the NHL conducted a bubble this summer and awarded its 2020 Stanley Cup) or even temporarily relocate the Canadian teams to the U.S. for the season. We should know more this week.
The Sharks, meanwhile, are unable to open training camp in San Jose due to Santa Clara county’s ban on contact sports, which runs through at least Jan. 8. On Sunday, Sharks GM Doug Wilson said his team would begin training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona — at the Coyotes’ training facility — and the plans remain fluid after that.
‘I think the county officials are doing what they think is in the best interest of our community, and we certainly respect that,’ Wilson said. ‘It’s our hope that we get to a place that we can get our team back to San Jose and in the Bay Area for the start of the regular season, but a lot of those decisions are out of our hands.’
The NHL also pledges to remain ‘flexible and adaptable’ and could even pivot to hub cities at some point if things go awry.
‘Depending on prevailing conditions both in local markets and across North America, the League will be prepared to play games in one or more ‘neutral site’ venues per division should it become necessary,’ the NHL said in a statement Sunday.
Are fans allowed at games?
The NHL isn’t going to have a blanket policy for how many fans will be allowed in arenas, instead following governmental guidance from market to market. Expect it to look similar to what we’ve seen in the NFL this season, with varying levels of attendance from team-to-team — and situations in markets constantly evolving, even on a week-by-week basis.
‘Most arenas will not, at least in the initial part of the season, be able to host fans,’ the NHL said in a statement Sunday.
However there are some markets that will allow fans from the jump, including the Dallas Stars. On Sunday, Stars president and CEO Brad Alberts told reporters that Dallas will have fans at home games, with a reduced capacity of around 5,000 people, similar to the amount of fans at watch parties during the Stars’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in September. For context, the Stars’ home arena typically can host about 18,500 fans.
Texas is currently allowing its professional sports teams to have 50% capacity at indoor events, though there are some social distancing and spacing requirements.
What happens if a player wants to opt out?
The NHL and NHLPA plan to announce their health and safety protocols in the coming days, so we’ll get a better sense of what the day-to-day requirements of the season will look like for players. Of course, players earn large salaries by playing a game for a living — but they’re human, too.
As one veteran player told me recently, the one thing that keeps him up at night is the thought of bringing COVID-19 home to his family. The player has a young child who is immunocompromised, and he has been extremely cautious with his interactions over the last several months. As safe of an environment as the NHL can create, he will inherently assume more risk by going to the rink, staying at hotels and traveling across as many as eight cities. This player said he intends to play this season, but I share his story as a reminder that this season will require sacrifices and difficult decisions.
According to the NHL and NHLPA protocols, players must provide at least seven days before training camp to declare their intention to opt out. So the deadline is Dec. 24 for players on the Sharks, Ducks, Kings, Devils, Sabres, Senators and Red Wings, and Dec. 27 for everyone else. There is no obligation for teams to pay those players’ salaries, and teams will also have the option of tolling (rolling over) the players’ contract.
If a player chooses to opt out for medical reasons — if it is deemed that he or an immediate family member has heightened risk — the situation is more complex. Those players wouldn’t be paid salary or bonuses for the duration of the time they opt out, but they would receive a monthly stipend. Teams won’t toll contracts for those players if it is initiated on or after Feb. 28, though prior to that, the team would have the option to toll the contract.
A handful of players opted out of this summer’s postseason, and there was one-high profile case of a player choosing to leave the bubble after the tournament began (Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, citing a family emergency). It’s unclear how many players will choose to sit out 2021, though newly signed Capitals goalie Henrik Lundqvist announced last week he will not be playing this season due to a heart condition.
What do we know about the NHL and the COVID-19 vaccine?
The NHL has been in contact about procuring the vaccine from private companies to distribute to players, coaches and other staff, but nothing is imminent. As they did with securing COVID-19 tests over the summer, the NHL is extremely image conscious about jumping the line in front of public need, so this is something that wouldn’t come down for a few months.
The NHL has never previously mandated a vaccine to players. Generally, the league will send recommendations to teams and players to get vaccines — such as the flu shot, or during the mumps outbreak a few years ago — and doctors who can administer the vaccine will come to training camp or the team facility. However, it is up to the player whether he wants to be vaccinated.
It’s a discussion the NHL is having with the NHLPA as they hammer out details for the season, but a few players and player agents told me they believe the NHLPA would fight back against mandatory vaccinations. Even if most agree that vaccination is the best path forward, enforcing mandatory vaccinations infringes on players’ individual rights and could be a slippery slope going forward.
What will the playoffs look like?
The regular season will wrap up on May 8 and then the league will return to a 16-team, best-of-seven, four-round playoff format. Four teams from each division will qualify for the playoffs.
The first two rounds will be intradvisional play. Then, the four division winners will advance to the semifinals, reseeded based on their regular-season point totals (№1 would play №4, №2 would play №3). The two semifinal teams will play in the Stanley Cup Final — and if you’ve been following along, that means it’s not necessarily going to be an Eastern Conference team versus a Western Conference team competing for the Cup. Bring on the chaos!
The Stanley Cup should be awarded around mid-July.
Any other key dates to keep in mind?
Here are some other events to put into your calendar:
- The trade deadline will be on April 12.
- The Seattle Kraken expansion draft will be on July 21 (teams need to submit their protected lists by July 17).
- The 2021 draft will be held July 23–24.
- The free agency signing period will begin on July 28.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly said his goal is to return to a normal October-to-June cadence for the 2021–22 season, which is especially important to the league since that’s when it is welcoming Seattle into the fold, as well as beginning a new television rights deal in the U.S.
What are other changes we will see?
For the first time, NHL teams will be able to put advertisements on the sides of players’ helmets. It will be a way for teams to recoup some revenue, and also make good to pre-existing or naming rights sponsors. According to league sources, the agreement is only for this season, and the league will sign off on the ad choices (knowing the NHL, don’t expect to see anything too outlandish).
The prorated season also forced a few other tweaks. For example, typically if a rookie plays 10 games, that means his entry-level contract kicks in for that season. This season, that threshold for rookies will be seven games.
To help alleviate call-up issues, teams will be able to carry taxi squads of four to six players. Taxi squad players will receive their full AHL salaries, and therefore not count toward the team’s $81.5 million salary cap. The taxi squad would practice with the regular 23-player roster, potentially travel with the varsity club (it’s an option, not required) and have to follow the same COVID-19 protocols.
The 2020 MLB playoffs are just a couple of days away, and the 16-team postseason field is set. The compressed 60-game schedule came down to the final weekend, and the MLB standings were tight heading to the finish, with wild-card positioning, postseason seeding and the rest of the playoff picture at stake.
How Many Cfl Teams Make The Playoffs
As has been the case with so much this season, the playoffs will have a new look, with an expanded format that includes 16 teams for the first time in MLB history.
Jump to: Playoff field | Playoff debates
Key links: Standings | Play: Playoff Baseball Pick ‘Em
The 16-team playoff bracket
The matchups: Here’s what the first round of the expanded playoffs will look like:
Best-of-three series, higher seed is home team
AMERICAN LEAGUE
№1 Rays vs. №8 Blue Jays
№2 A’s vs. №7 White Sox
№3 Twins vs. №6 Astros
№4 Indians vs. №5 Yankees
NATIONAL LEAGUE
№1 Dodgers vs. №8 Brewers
№2 Braves vs. №7 Reds
№3 Cubs vs. №6 Marlins
№4 Padres vs. №5 Cardinals
Who is in?
Los Angeles Dodgers
The overwhelming preseason favorites clinched the NL’s top postseason seed and their eighth consecutive division title.
Dodgers must-read: How A.J. and Kate Pollock faced their daughter’s premature birth during the COVID-19 pandemic
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox clinched their first playoff berth since 2008. It will be the 10th postseason appearance in the history of the franchise, which dates to 1903.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays clinched the sixth postseason appearance in franchise history and their second in a row, as well as their first AL East title since 2010. Last year, Tampa Bay beat Oakland in the AL wild-card game and lost to Houston in the division series.
Oakland Athletics
The A’s punched their third straight postseason ticket with a win over the Giants, then clinched the AL West three days later.
A’s must-read: Inside the A’s dominance and how they plan to make it last
Minnesota Twins
The Twins clinched their third postseason appearance in the past four seasons. Last year, they were swept by the Yankees in the division series, extending their postseason losing streak to 16 games since their most recent win in Game 1 of the 2004 AL Division Series.
San Diego Padres
The Padres clinched their first postseason appearance since 2006 when they came back to beat the Mariners in extra innings 7–4 after fending off a no-hit bid.
Padres must-read: How Padres GM A.J. Preller decided to go for it
New York Yankees
Although they took a beating on Sunday in Boston, the Yankees clinched a playoff spot when the Padres beat the Mariners.
Yankees must-read: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has a HR problem
Atlanta Braves
Best soccer teams to bet on this weekend. Even before they finished their game against the Marlins on Tuesday, the Braves clinched their third straight NL East title when the Phillies were swept in their doubleheader against the Nationals. In both of the previous two seasons, the Braves failed to advance beyond the division series.
Braves must-read: Why a Braves-White Sox World Series would be extra special
Cleveland Indians
Powered by Jose Ramirez’s three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the White Sox, Cleveland clinched its return to the postseason after missing out on October in 2019, which snapped a streak of three consecutive playoff appearances.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs snapped a one-season hiatus from the postseason and got rookie manager David Ross’ team to October in his first year in the dugout.
Cubs must-read: Inside Yu Darvish’s return to elite status as the Cubs’ ace
Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays earned their first postseason berth since 2016 on Thursday with their win over the Yankees behind their top starter, Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins didn’t just clinch their first season of .500 or better since 2009. They also earned their first appearance in the postseason since they won the 2003 World Series by beating the same team Friday that they beat then: the Yankees, the only team that Miami manager Don Mattingly played for in his career.
Marlins must-read: How Olympic speedskater Eddy Alvarez made it to the show
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds clinched through a combination of circumstance and scheduling on Friday, beating the Twins for their 30th win while the Brewers and Phillies took their 30th losses, securing Cincinnati’s spot through victory and tiebreaker advantages. Ryan burnett vs lee haskins.
Houston Astros
Despite suffering a 5–4 walk-off loss to the Rangers, the Astros backed into the postseason on Friday while falling to .500 when the Dodgers — irony alert — clobbered the Angels to secure Houston’s spot on the AL postseason slate. The Astros become the fifth team that manager Dusty Baker has skippered into the postseason in his remarkable career.
Astros must-read: Why Verlander’s injury marks beginning of the end of Astros’ sad legacy
St. Louis Cardinals
How Many Cfl Teams Make The Playoffs 2018
Despite playing just 58 games this season, the Cardinals secured a playoff spot based on their winning percentage with a Sunday victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
A loss to the Cardinals in Sunday’s regular-season finale didn’t keep the Brewers out of the playoff field thanks to losses by both the Giants and Phillies.
Cfl Teams List
Pennant race debate: Which player are you most excited to see this postseason?
David Schoenfield: Shane Bieber. The Indians haven’t won the World Series since 1948, and they are hardly the favorites to win the American League, but Bieber is the pitcher most likely to have a Madison Bumgarner-in-2014 type of run and carry an otherwise mediocre team to the title.
Joon Lee: Tim Anderson finds himself in the middle of a chase not only with DJ LeMahieu for his second straight batting title but also with Cleveland Indians hurler Shane Bieber and teammate Jose Abreu for the American League MVP. Anderson is the heart and soul of the insurgent White Sox, and the 27-year-old shortstop will be making the first playoff appearance of his career. When considering those circumstances, his penchant for bringing excitement and flair to the field, and his dynamic bat at the top of the lineup on the South Side, Anderson figures to make a sizable impression with the eyes of baseball fans nationwide squarely focused on the young and exciting White Sox squad.
Cfl Playoffs 2020
Sam Miller: Yu Darvish hasn’t appeared in the postseason since his disastrous pair of starts in the 2017 World Series, and in the ensuing period, he has changed teams, gotten hurt, been a bust, added yet another pitch and once more become — surprisingly but not too surprisingly — one of the world’s five best starting pitchers. He has never had the control over his arsenal that he has now, and nobody is more of a threat to throw a no-hitter in any given start. Darvish doesn’t need to redeem himself for the 2017 World Series — his career is so much more than those two starts — but it’ll be really satisfying to watch him play the ace this October.
Bradford Doolittle: In both 1997 (Livan Hernandez) and 2003 (Josh Beckett), the Marlins’ championship runs were fueled by a hot, emergent pitcher. Although I’m not predicting that Miami will go on a title romp if it gets into the playoffs, Sixto Sanchez could be that kind of emergent pitcher for the team this October. Both his traditional results and his Statcast metrics are elite, and he could be going up against a club that has never seen him in the opener of a best-of-three series. That opponent could end up being the Dodgers.
Alden Gonzalez: Sixto Sanchez because I don’t think anybody has an answer for him at the moment.
