Coast To Coast is FloHockey’s bimonthly, cohesive news on North American hockey and live-streaming partnerships.

The calendar year of 2020 is finally nearing its end and after months of uncertainty, adapting to a “new normal,” and navigating the ongoing pandemic, hockey is almost back in full force.

The biggest piece of hockey news over the past two weeks is undoubtedly the NHL’s announcement of a confirmed 2020-21 season. But other North American leagues have remained busy in getting their reformatted seasons off of the ground and front offices have hardly sat idly by when it comes down to business.

ECHL Transactions

In the ECHL, a 26-team league brought down to 15 — of which only 13 are currently playing — voluntary suspensions saw the list of free agents become almost as unlimited as Santa’s bag of gifts. Veterans, rookies, forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders were suddenly abundant and general managers were offered a lot of unseen freedom to build and shape their rosters for the 2021 Kelly Cup.

For annual contenders like the Florida Everblades, the freedom offered a wider array of talent and intangibles to fill out depth roles. For other teams like the Toledo Walleye, which had only five players carry over from last season, it offered a chance to reshape the team philosophy and character, if management so chose.

There have been a lot of moving parts since the puck dropped on the season on Dec. 11. While no team has played more than four games, there has already been a trade, a waiver claim, 10 organizational assignments, 21 signed contracts, and 25 contractual players released.

The complete list of ECHL transactions can be found on a daily basis on the website’s transaction page.

Atlantic Hockey

With no contracts, no trades, and no waivers, NCAA hockey doesn’t see the same type of transactional news as other leagues. The bulk of committed players bide their time and often make career decisions during the spring or summer, such as transferring, signing a pro contract, or taking their talent to another league.

But with the first semester done for a handful of conferences (or, half-semester), some recruiting classes have already shown some promise.

Mercyhurst has found a pair of gems in Carson Briere and Dante Sheriff. Briere, son of former NHL forward Daniel Briere, leads the Lakers with seven points (3 G, 4 A) in six games. Briere had a pair of goals and assists in his team’s 7-4 win Friday night over Niagara. Sheriff has six points (2 G, 4 A) in four games, including at least one point in each of his outings.

Sacred Heart is battling offseason losses with a 1-3 record following up the program’s most successful season. While the offense is still seeing some depth contributions, the Pioneers are struggling defensively, allowing an average 4.5 goals against per game.

Meanwhile No. 20-ranked Robert Morris is seeing a big payoff with freshman netminder Noah West. West holds a .927 SV% and 2.34 GAA, leading the Colonials in the crease. West is showing he deserves to be trusted with the bulk of starts. His teammates in the crease have combined for an .865 SV% in four games.

WCHA

Despite No. 13 Bowling Green losing star defenseman Alec Rauhauser, the Falcons have bought in for 2020-21, as five players are scoring at a point per game pace or higher. That includes four seniors, which have carried the team to an 8-1 start. The Falcons are likely facing a slight step back come spring, where they’ll have to regroup following the graduation of nine seniors. 

Many believe last season was “the year” for No. 5-ranked Minnesota State, but the season’s cancellation made for disappointing ends to many seniors’ careers across the NCAA. The Mavericks lost seven seniors in the spring, including three of their top four scorers. Come spring, coach Mike Hastings will watch another nine seniors depart.

The 2021-22 Mavericks squad is destined to look significantly different, but no less talented. Anything short of a regional semifinals win at the 2021 National Tournament will dampen the mood in Mankato.

NHL Camps Coming Up

North American organizations are beginning to wield out clauses and terminate overseas contracts as the opening of training camps is imminent.

The NHL and Players’ Association have agreed on a 56-game schedule expected to kick off on Jan. 13. Divisions have been realigned for more travel-friendly concerns across the league, including a seven-team all-Canadian division.

The @NHLPA and @NHL have announced an agreement to play a 2020-21 regular-season schedule of 56 games beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. https://t.co/2on0oStnMd pic.twitter.com/aggYeVMjfj

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 20, 2020

“The biggest challenge is making sure that our players and supporting personnel are safe and healthy and making sure that we're not doing anything that puts the communities in which we're playing at risk either in terms of spreading COVID or taking medical resources, whether it's testing or vaccinations,” commissioner Gary Bettman told NHL.com. 

The Detroit Red Wings — along with the six other non-playoff teams cut from the 24-team expanded playoff format last season — have not played since mid-March. That is a long time for players and prospects to be away from legitimate competition. That is part of why the Red Wings have been among the most prominent teams in returning players and prospects from Europe.

Red Wings players including Filip Hronek and Filip Zadina, in addition to Gustav Lindstrom, Michael Rasmussen, and Mathias Brome, are all returning after impressive showings in their respective European leagues, with the latter three out to earn a full-time spot in camp.

Other teams have begun to call players and prospects back home including, but not limited to, Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Montreal Canadiens), Philip Broberg (Edmonton Oilers), Ville Heinola (Winnipeg Jets), and Emil Bemstrom (Columbus Blue Jackets).

New Toronto Maple Leafs center, Joe Thornton, has been keeping his 41-year-old legs loose with HC Davos of the Swiss National League. The future Hall of Fame lock is set to join the Leafs after more than 14 seasons with the San Jose Sharks.

On the free agent side, there remain a number of notable names unsigned counting Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund, Sami Vatanen, and Erik Haula. With the new tentative dates for the upcoming season, expect another wave of free agency signings.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.