The KHL has reached out to leagues’ clubs to reveal the plans for the upcoming 2020/21. season.
The new KHL season is expected to start on September 2nd. The potential start date has also been accepted by the Russian Hockey Federation.
The following is a statement from KHL:
”The date has been agreed with the Russian Hockey Federation. However, the league also asks everybody to take note of the following: the start date for next season’s championship, first and foremost, depends on the on-going public health situation concerning the coronavirus pandemic and the continued easing of restrictions across Russia’s regions and in the other nations represented in the KHL.
The KHL continues to monitor the situation closely and, in the event of any changes in restrictions affecting the staging of games or any increased risk to the health of the participants of the championship, will respond swiftly to make any necessary adjustments to the schedule and circumstances of the season.”
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The only difference between the start of the previous season and the beginning of the new one is just a single day. Previous year the league started their regular season on September 1st.
24 teams took part in the 2019/2020 KHL season, however, this time around there will be only 23 teams. One of the Eastern Conference teams – ”Admiral” Vladisvostok has withdrawn from competition for at least one season.
”Admiral unfortunately for us has withdrawn, but all the other teams, including the ones that were reported by media to potentially have issues traveling due to COVID-19 we have already talked to. All of them have confirmed to be ready for the 2020/2021 season. We’re preparing to begin our season in September, but of course, all of that depends on the situation with the global pandemic.” the president of KHL Alexei Morozov revealed in a statement.
During this off-season, KHL has already implemented a salary cap. With that – the top teams have struggled and are still struggling to fit under the cap. Meanwhile, some teams will find it hard to reach the salary floor. One of the teams – ”Dinamo” Riga is yet to make any additions while the team lost most of their players as they hit the free agency on May 1st. The Latvian team is known to make late moves to prepare for the season so it doesn’t come as a surprise. This time around – they are awaiting sponsors to hand them their money so that players could be signed as soon as possible. ”Dinamo” team at this point are operating without a general manager and head coach.
Loads of uncertainty league-wide but when the time comes to hit the ice it promises to be an exciting season.
