NHL's target date for next season pushed to New Year's Day

The NHL and NHLPA are planning for a new target date of Jan. 1 to begin the 2021 season, commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

The new target doesn't guarantee the season will begin on New Year's Day, but it replaces the league's initial date of Dec. 1.

Bettman said during the Stanley Cup Final that predicting next season's start date will be "nothing more than speculation," though he added he prefers the season doesn't carry into next summer.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly has also said numerous times that the league intends to play a full 82-game schedule next season.

The first round of the 2020 NHL Draft is scheduled for Tuesday night, with free agency set to begin Oct. 9.