2020 NLL season

2020 NLL season
LeagueNational Lacrosse League
SportIndoor lacrosse (box lacrosse)
DurationNovember 29, 2019 — March 12, 2020
Number of games18
Number of teams13
TV partner(s)B/R Live[1] (United States)
Twitter and Facebook (Globally)
Regular season
Top seedNew England Black Wolves
Season MVPShayne Jackson
Top scorerCallum Crawford
Playoffs
NLL seasons

The 2020 National Lacrosse League season, formally known as the 2019–2020 season, was the 34th in the history of the NLL. The season began on November 29, 2019 and was scheduled to end with the NLL final in late spring of 2020.[2][3] However due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended on March 12, 2020.[4] On April 8, the league made a further public statement announcing the cancellation of the remaining games of the 2020 season and that they would be exploring options for playoffs once it was safe to resume play.[5][6]

This season was the inaugural season for the expansion Knighthawks[7] and Riptide.[8][9] The former Rochester Knighthawks under owner Curt Styres relocated to Halifax for this season while Pegula Sports and Entertainment took over the Knighthawks moniker with a new expansion team.[10][11][12]

With the addition of two teams, the NLL was realigned into a three division league. The five west division teams remained the same but the six east division and two expansion teams were distributed into a north and a new east division. The top-two teams in each division would qualify for the playoffs plus and additional two wild card teams.[13]

  1. ^ Hepburn, Tmera (December 12, 2019). "Lacrosse Fans Can Now Watch a 'Game Of The Week' For Free – Here's How". Cord Cutters News.
  2. ^ "NLL Announces brands and identities for its two newest teams". NLL.com. February 17, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  3. ^ "2019-20 National Lacrosse League Schedule Released". National Lacrosse League. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "NLL Statement on game play (March 12, 2020)". NLL.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "National Lacrosse League cancels remainder of season due to COVID-19". Sportsnet.
  6. ^ "National Lacrosse League announces cancellation of remaining regular season games". NLL.com. April 8, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "Knighthawks Unveil New Logo Ahead of Expansion Season". Spectrum News. May 30, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "N.Y. National Lacrosse League team named "Riptide"". Long Island Herald. February 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  9. ^ "Welcome to the NLL Halifax Thunderbirds and New York Riptide". Inside Lacrosse. February 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  10. ^ "NLL Announces the Rochester Knighthawks are Moving to Halifax for 2019-20 Season". Inside Lacrosse. September 13, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  11. ^ Johnson, Melanie (September 13, 2018). "Knighthawks owner leaving, Pegulas taking over franchise". Spectrum News. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Parsons, Jack (December 6, 2019). "Halifax Thunderbirds to play first regular season game this weekend". Halifax Today. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  13. ^ Ferger, Michael (9 September 2019). "NLL Announces Division Realignment for 2019/2020 Season". Vancouver Warriors. Retrieved 20 May 2024.