NHL bumps draft up to Oct. 6-7, sets Oct. 9 for free agency start

On Friday, the NHL announced two important date changes for events occurring after the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

With the Final set to finish either before September ends or in early October, the league announced that the 2020 NHL Draft will take place on Oct. 6-7 rather than Oct. 9-10 as originally thought. It's believed the New York Rangers will confirm the selection of Alexis Lafreniere with the draft's first pick on Oct. 6. The Rangers won the draft lottery on Aug. 10.

NHL free agency, meanwhile, will now open Oct. 9 at noon ET. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported in July that the league and NHL Players' Association have scrapped the interview period that previously preceded the official start of free agency.

The salary cap for the 2020-21 NHL season, which doesn't yet have an official date set for opening night, will remain at $81.5 million.