What an All-Canadian Division Would Look Like

Covid-19 has made a huge impact throughout the world, especially in the world of sports. With the 2020-21 NHL season starting soon, the NHL needs to prepare for teams traveling during the season.

One big issue created by the pandemic is teams traveling between the United States and Canada. The borders between the U.S and Canada have been shut down, which restricts American teams to play with Canadian teams. This has already forced the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors to move to Americans cities for the 2020 season.

However, the NHL is more complicated than the MLB and NBA since they only have one Canadian team in their league. The NHL includes seven Canadians teams, which means they would need to find another solution.

One solution that seems to be increasingly likely is having a complete “Canadian Division”. Right now it’s not certain how the division will operate, but the division would cut back on travel and increase safety for the players and the league.

If the Canadian division is confirmed, these could be the potential division realignment for the 2020-21 NHL season:

Atlantic Division:

• Buffalo Sabres
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• New York Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

Central Division:

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Detroit Red Wings
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St. Louis Blues
• Winnipeg Jets

Canadian Division:

• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Vancouver Canucks

South Division:

• Anaheim Ducks
• Arizona Coyotes
• Carolina Hurricanes
• Florida Panthers
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Vegas Golden Knights