January 5th, 2021
Jan 5, 2021 - The National Hockey League (NHL®), in partnership with Discover, Honda, MassMutual and Scotiabank today announced the official division names for the 2020-21 season: Scotia NHL® North Division, Honda NHL® West Division, Discover NHL® Central Division and the MassMutual NHL® East Division.
As previously announced, in reaching agreement on the format for the 2020-21 season, the NHL and NHLPA determined that the ongoing closure of the U.S.-Canada border required realignment, with teams realigned as follows:
• Scotia NHL® North Division (Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg)
• Honda NHL® West Division (Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose, St. Louis, Vegas)
• Discover NHL® Central Division (Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay)
• MassMutual NHL® East Division (Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington)
Each team in the MassMutual NHL® East Division, Discover NHL® Central Division and Honda NHL® West Division will play every other team in its division eight times while each team in the Scotia NHL® North Division will play every other team in its division nine or 10 times, to minimize team travel as much as possible.
The NHL also announced today that voting is now open for the 2020-21 NHL Preseason All-Division Team Fan Vote. The 2020-21 NHL Preseason All-Division Team Fan Vote gives fans the opportunity to celebrate the start of the season and the temporary division realignment by selecting their favorite Preseason All-Division Team at NHL.com/AllDivisionTeam. Starting today through January 11, 2021, fans can select six players for each division team - three forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie, and share their selections across their social platforms with the official hashtag #NHLAllDivision. All NHL teams will be represented with candidates for each position, designated by the NHL.
One team will be selected for each of the four divisions - Scotia NHL® North Division, Honda NHL® West Division, Discover NHL® Central Division and MassMutual NHL® East Division, and will be announced across NHL social media platforms - Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram prior to the start of the 2020-21 season.