North America's National Hockey League will open its 2013-14 season October 1 with new divisions and a revamped schedule that has all 30 teams hosting each rival at least once.
The league announced the 1,230-game lineup only an hour after revealing an agreement to send players to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, which will require the NHL to shut down next year from February 9-25.
"Our outstanding athletes take tremendous pride in representing their homelands on the global stage," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a joint announcement with the players' association.
"The decision to participate in the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi was in many ways a difficult one, but one that we know will be well received by our players and, most importantly, by the vast majority of our fans and sports fans everywhere."
NHL players have been going to the Olympics since the 1998 Nagano Games and 12 nations will benefit from the latest agreement.
As for the NHL changes, teams will be divided into four divisions this season rather than six, a new alignment agreed after the settlement of a money dispute between owners and players last January.
The Eastern Conference will feature an Atlantic Division of Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto and a Metropolitan Division of Washington, Carolina, Columbus, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders.
The Western Conference features a Central Division of Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg and a Pacific Division of Vancouver, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Calgary, Anaheim, Phoenix and San Jose.
On opening night, the Chicago Blackhawks will raise their Stanley Cup championship banner when they host Washington while Toronto visits Montreal and Edmonton entertains Winnipeg.
The season will conclude on April 13 with the 16-team championship playoffs starting three days later.
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