NHL Next Offseason To Be Shortened Again

     The National Hockey League offseason will be shortened for the third straight time next summer. It was done following the interruption of the coronavirus pandemic during the 2019-20 campaign and last season which was played only in the 2021 calendar year from January to July. 

     The last day possible day of the Stanley Cup Final is on June 30 for the 2021-22 season. The NHL season has been completed and the Stanley Cup is raised in mid-June on almost all occasions.  

     The annual NHL Draft will be held on July 7 and July 8 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The draft has been usually held during the final two weeks of June. 

     The free agency period to sign players will be pushed back to July 13. It has been a general idea in recent years to begin free agent signings on Canada Day which is July 1. 

     The NHL regular season schedule was released back in late July. The 2021-22 campaign will begin on October 13. The National Hockey League will have a three-week stoppage in February due to the Winter Olympics. The trade deadline has been placed on March 21 while the end of the regular season will be April 29.