The National Hockey League and players reached a tentative deal Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, to hold a 56-game season in 2021, pending the approval of each side's executive board and Canadian health officials.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)Hockey is set to return Jan. 13 after the NHL and players completed a deal Sunday to hold a 56-game season that would include playoffs lasting into July to award the Stanley Cup.
The league's Board of Governors voted to approve the agreement that was backed by the NHL Players' Association executive board Friday night.
The NHL completed last season in bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with players, coaches and staff isolated from the general public and virus-tested daily.
In the three U.S. divisions, teams will play eight times against each other.