NHL Franchise Boys

EASTERN CONFERENCE (all games at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto)

(5) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (12) Montreal Canadiens
Saturday, Aug. 1: Canadiens vs. Penguins
Monday, Aug. 3: Canadiens vs. Penguins
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Penguins vs. Canadiens
Friday, Aug. 7: Penguins vs. Canadiens*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Canadiens vs. Penguins*

(6) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (11) New York Rangers
Saturday, Aug. 1: Rangers vs. Hurricanes
Monday, Aug. 3: Rangers vs. Hurricanes
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Hurricanes vs. Rangers
Thursday, Aug. 6: Hurricanes vs. Rangers*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Rangers vs. Hurricanes*

(7) New York Islanders vs. (10) Florida Panthers
Saturday, Aug. 1: Panthers vs. Islanders
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Panthers vs. Islanders
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Islanders vs. Panthers
Friday, Aug. 7: Islanders vs. Panthers*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Panthers vs. Islanders*

(8) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (9) Columbus Blue Jackets
Sunday, Aug. 2: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs
Thursday, Aug. 6: Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets
Friday, Aug. 7: Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs*

Round-robin
Sunday, Aug. 2: Flyers vs. Bruins
Monday, Aug. 3: Capitals vs. Lightning
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Lightning vs. Bruins
Thursday, Aug. 6: Capitals vs. Flyers
Saturday, Aug. 8: Bruins vs. Capitals
Sunday, Aug. 9: Flyers vs. Lightning

WESTERN CONFERENCE (all games at Rogers Place, Edmonton)

(5) Edmonton Oilers vs. (12) Chicago Blackhawks
Saturday, Aug. 1: Blackhawks vs. Oilers
Monday, Aug. 3: Blackhawks vs. Oilers
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Friday, Aug. 7: Oilers vs. Blackhawks*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Blackhawks vs. Oilers*

(6) Nashville Predators vs. (11) Arizona Coyotes
Sunday, Aug. 2: Coyotes vs. Predators
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Coyotes vs. Predators
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Predators vs. Coyotes
Friday, Aug. 7: Predators vs. Coyotes*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Coyotes vs. Predators*

(7) Vancouver Canucks vs. (10) Minnesota Wild
Sunday, Aug. 2: Wild vs. Canucks
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Wild vs. Canucks
Thursday, Aug. 6: Canucks vs. Wild
Friday, Aug. 7: Canucks vs. Wild*
Sunday, Aug. 9: Wild vs. Canucks*

(8) Calgary Flames vs. (9) Winnipeg Jets
Saturday, Aug. 1: Jets vs. Flames
Monday, Aug. 3: Jets vs. Flames
Tuedsay, Aug. 4: Flames vs. Jets
Thursday, Aug. 6: Flames vs. Jets*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Jets vs. Flames*

Round-robin
Sunday, Aug. 2: Blues vs. Avalanche
Monday, Aug. 3: Stars vs. Golden Knights
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Avalanche vs. Stars
Thursday, Aug. 6: Golden Knights vs. Blues
Saturday, Aug. 8: Golden Knights vs. Avalanche
Sunday, Aug. 9: Stars vs. Blues

Stanley Cup Playoffs and Offseason Activities:

July 31: Beginning of qualification round
Aug. 9: Start of Stanley Cup Playoffs
Oct. 2: Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final
Oct. 6: 2020 draft (after playoffs and before free agency)
Oct. 9 (or seven days after Final): Start of free agency
Nov. 17: Opening of training camps for 2020-21 season
Dec. 1: Beginning of 2020-21 regular season

All dates are subject to change due to the ongoing pandemic, of course!

Why ruin 2 seasons? Abandon this season and keep next season intact!

 

The NHL announced the protocol for the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery, with its first phase held June 26.

The First Phase of the draft lottery will be held June 26, prior to the Qualifying Round. It will consist of three drawings and include the seven teams that did not qualify for the postseason and eight placeholder positions. The eight potential losing teams from the Qualifying Round will be represented in the First Phase of the draft lottery as unassigned picks.

The first drawing of the First Phase will set the team selecting No. 1 in the draft, the second drawing will set the team selecting No. 2, and the third drawing will set the team selecting No. 3.

If a team not in the bottom seven wins any of the first three drawings, a Second Phase will be conducted among the eight teams eliminated in the Qualifying Round. That would take place between the end of the Qualifying Round and the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The odds for the first lottery drawing are as follows (bottom-seven teams’ point percentage in parentheses):

Detroit Red Wings — (.275) 18.5 percent chance for No. 1 pick

Ottawa Senators — (.437) 13.5 percent

Ottawa Senators (from San Jose Sharks, .450) — 11.5 percent

Los Angeles Kings — (.457) 9.5 percent

Anaheim Ducks — (.472) 8.5 percent

New Jersey Devils — (.493) 7.5 percent

Buffalo Sabres — (.493) 6.5 percent

Qualifying Round Team A — 6.0 percent

Qualifying Round Team B — 5.0 percent

Qualifying Round Team C — 3.5 percent

Qualifying Round Team D — 3.0 percent

Qualifying Round Team E — 2.5 percent

Qualifying Round Team F — 2.0 percent

Qualifying Round Team G — 1.5 percent

Qualifying Round Team H — 1.0 percent

After the first drawing, the odds for the remaining teams will increase on a proportionate basis for the second drawing, and again for the third drawing, based on which team wins the second drawing.

If each of the three First Phase drawings is won by a bottom-seven team, the Second Phase will not be necessary. The remaining four teams from the bottom seven will be assigned picks No. 4-7 in inverse order of their regular-season point percentage, and picks No. 8-15 will be assigned to the teams that are eliminated from the Qualifying Round in inverse order of their point percentage.

The number of drawings in the Second Phase would depend on how many picks in the First Phase are won by teams that lost in the Qualifying Round.

The odds for each losing team in the Qualifying Round for the first drawing of the Second Phase are 12.5 percent.

The point percentages for the 16 participants in the Qualifying Round (in inverse order, by tiebreaker):

Montreal Canadiens, .500

Chicago Blackhawks, .514

Arizona Coyotes, .529

Minnesota Wild, .558

Winnipeg Jets, .563

Calgary Flames, .564

New York Rangers, .564

Vancouver Canucks, .565

Nashville Predators, .565

Florida Panthers, .565

Columbus Blue Jackets, .579

Toronto Maple Leafs, .579

Edmonton Oilers, .585

New York Islanders, .588

Carolina Hurricanes, .596

Pittsburgh Penguins, .623

The top four teams in the Eastern and Western conferences — Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals — will not participate in the draft lottery.

Forward Alexis Lafreniere is expected to be the No. 1 pick. Other top prospects include forward Tim Stuetzle, forward Quinton Byfield, defenseman Jamie Drysdale and defenseman Jake Sanderson.