The NHL's projectedstart date of Jan. 1 is fast-approaching.On Nov. 10, that the NHL is looking into a few tweaks from the normal season such as short-term hubs, realignment and a truncatedschedule when the league does hit the ice.Speaking at the 2020 Paley International Council Summit alongside MLB's RobManfred and the NBA's Adam Silver, NHL commi sioner Gary Bettmandiscu sed what the NHL may look Jimmie Ward Jersey like in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.Of course, nothing is set in stone as the NHL and the NHL Players' A sociation must meet and sus out any plans; but for now, here's a breakdown on how the NHL's return may go.How will games work?There have been a few mentions over the last few weeks regarding how the NHL will actually function in regards to staging games. One thing that is clearis that there will not be a season-long bubble. The toll it tookto be isolated for weeks to monthsduring the Stanley Cup playoffs, depending on how deepone's team went,was madeclear by players and coaches alikeand neither they nor the NHL appears up for that again.Conversations have instead rangedfrom holding games as usual with travel, games in hubs or a hybrid system of both."You'll play for 10 to 12 days," Bettman said regarding the proposed hub system."You'll play a bunch of games without traveling. You'll go back, go home for a week, be with your family. We'll have our testing protocols and all the other things you need."It's not going to be quite as effective as a bubble, but we think we can, if we go this route, minimize the risks to the extent practical and sensible. And so that's one of the things that we' Tarvarius Moore Jersey re talking about."What would alignment look like?Here's where things gettricky. Say goodbye to the conference and division alignments it took you years to memorize at least for the 2021 season.Teams will have to be shifted around for myriad reasons including keeping travel down, state quarantine restrictions when entering and the Canada-United States border being (po sibly) closed. The border, for now, is closed until Nov. 21;however, thedate has been moved numerous times since the pandemic began and the closure is expected to be extended."As it relates to the travel i sue, which is obviously the great unknown, we may have to temporarily realign to deal with geography, and that may make sense, because having some of our teams travel from Florida to California may not make sense."It may be that we're better off, particularly if we're playing a reduced schedule, which we're contemplating, keeping it geographically centric, more divisional based, and realigning, again on a temporary basis, to deal with the travel i sues."The all-Canada division is the NHL's worst-kept secret. About a month ago, Vegas Golden Knights owner when asked about playing against the recently traded Nate Schmidt."Yeah, but they're going to be playing in the Canadian division," he said regarding the Canucks."I think they're going to play a Canadian division," he added when pre sed on it."I don't think they're going to cro Arik Armstead Jersey s the border."As a number of outlets have discu sed different combinations,this is how we think things could shake out based on the current restrictions.Division AHow about reverting back to the old Adams Division for this one season?Boston BruinsBuffalo SabresNew Jersey DevilsNew York IslandersNew York RangersPhiladelphia FlyersPittsburgh PenguinsWashington CapitalsDivision BOr Norris Division?Carolina HurricanesChicago BlackhawksColumbus Blue JacketsDetroit Red WingsFlorida PanthersNashville PredatorsSt. Louis BluesTampa Bay LightningDivision CSmythe Division anyone?Anaheim DucksArizona CoyotesColorado AvalancheDallas StarsLos Angeles KingsMinnesota WildSan Jose SharksVegas Golden KnightsCanada divisionLast but not least, Patrick Division?Calgary FlamesEdmonton OilersMontreal CanadiensOttawa SenatorsToronto Maple LeafsVancouver CanucksWinnipeg JetsHow many games will be played?Obviously starting Jan. 1 wouldmake it hard for an 82-game schedule. As Foley , NBC is the home of not only the NHL postseason but the Olympics which are (fingers-cro sed) set to take place in July.According to Postmedia'sBruce Garrioch, deputy commi sioner Bill Daly said in a memo sent to teams on Tuesday that Jan. 1 is still the target with the hope of ending before the end of April. Normally a season ends around the beginning of April so this could only put the league back a few weeks with the projected end date of late June to the beginning of July feasible.Daly added in the memo the NHL is hoping to complete the schedule before the end of April and get back on a regular schedule for 2021-21. Solomon Thomas Jersey Didn't say how many games would be played. The league also sent out a survey asking about local conditions and restrictions. Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) Bettman also noted that a goal of the league "is to get back to a normal schedule starting next fall and being done before July on a longer-term basis. That is the goal."Will there be fans?Still no update on this; however, Cotsonika did note that part of looking into whether teams could play at their home arena includes delving into whether fans would be allowed. As of now, each state or province hasits own guidelines on social settings and groups so this may not be known for a while. Bettman did state during his back in September that allowing fans in is a fluid situation. Matt Breida Jersey "I'm just throwing it out there as a random thought: It's conceivable that we start without fans, that we move to socially distant fans at some point and by some point in time, maybe, ourbuildings are open," he said. "I'm not saying that's the case, but if you're thinking through all of the conceivable po sibilities there's full, there's empty, there's a combination and again, how we start doesn't nece sarily mean that's how we have to finish."