2019–20 NHL season

2019–20 NHL season
Title	2019–20 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 2, 2019 – September 28, 2020
Teams	31
Games	82 (regular season scheduled)
MVP	[See section]

2019–20 NHL season

The 2019–20 National Hockey League season was the 103rd season of National Hockey League competition, featuring franchises such as the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Rangers. The campaign began with traditional events including NHL Global Series, NHL Heritage Classic, NHL Winter Classic, and the NHL All-Star Game and concluded unusually with the Stanley Cup awarded after an expanded postseason involving hub cities, with the Stanley Cup Finals contested in September and the Conn Smythe Trophy presented to the most valuable playoff player.

League business

League business in 2019–20 included front office, broadcasting, and international initiatives. The National Hockey League Players' Association negotiated player conduct and scheduling concerns with National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, while the Board of Governors approved rules and salary cap measures affecting teams including the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Broadcasting arrangements involved broadcasters such as NBC Sports, ESPN, Sportsnet, TSN, and Rogers Communications with international distribution to markets like United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, and Russia. The season also saw youth and development partnerships with organizations including USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Europe, and charitable outreach through the NHL Foundation and the NHL Players' Association Foundation.

Regular season

The regular season schedule featured marquee matchups among clubs such as Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Washington Capitals and showcased star players including Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Nathan MacKinnon. Important milestones occurred: the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild met in divisional play; the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes staged regional rivalries; and the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils continued rebuilding efforts. Individual leaders vied for trophies like the Hart Memorial Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, Vezina Trophy, and Calder Memorial Trophy while teams pursued playoff positioning in divisions including the Atlantic Division, Metropolitan Division, Central Division, and Pacific Division.

COVID-19 pandemic suspension and restart

The season was suspended in March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the National Hockey League to pause all play and consult public health authorities including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and provincial agencies in Ontario and Quebec. The hiatus impacted the NHLPA, coaching staffs of teams such as Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock, Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, and general managers including Ken Holland and Jim Nill. After negotiations between the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association, the league announced a return-to-play plan using two hub cities—Toronto and Edmonton—in collaboration with municipal authorities and venues like Scotiabank Arena, Rogers Place, and health officials from Alberta Health Services. The process involved COVID-19 testing protocols, isolation protocols for players, and coordination with broadcasting partners including NBC Sports and Sportsnet.

Stanley Cup Playoffs and expanded format

The Stanley Cup playoffs resumed with an expanded 24-team format including a 16-team traditional bracket supplemented by a 24-team qualifying round, bringing clubs such as the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Islanders into contention. The altered postseason featured round-robin seeding games for top seeds such as the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche, while lower seeds competed in best-of-five qualifying series. Hub cities Toronto and Edmonton hosted playoff rounds leading to conference playoffs and ultimately the Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars, culminating in a Lightning victory and the awarding of the Conn Smythe Trophy to playoff MVP Victor Hedman. The playoffs highlighted performances by players including Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Ben Bishop.

Player statistics and awards

Statistical leaders during the condensed and disrupted season included scoring leaders such as Leon Draisaitl, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Mark Stone competing for top scorer honors and the Art Ross Trophy. Goaltending leaders pushing for the Vezina Trophy included Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tuukka Rask, Robin Lehner, Carey Price, and Jordan Binnington. Rookies like Cale Makar, Jack Hughes, Kaapo Kakko, Rasmus Dahlin, and Quinn Hughes were in consideration for the Calder Memorial Trophy. End-of-season awards reflected regular season performance and playoff impact with honors presented by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and voted by the National Hockey League General Managers.

Notable transactions and retirements

The season featured significant trades, free agent signings, and retirements involving prominent figures such as P.K. Subban, Zdeno Chara, Patrick Marleau, Henrik Lundqvist, Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton, Taylor Hall, Evgeni Malkin, and executives like Jim Rutherford. Trade deadlines and off-ice moves affected payroll management under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, with notable transactions between franchises including the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, and Montreal Canadiens. Several veteran players announced retirement at season's end, altering leadership cores and prompting roster changes ahead of subsequent seasons.

Category:National Hockey League seasons