The St. Louis Blues will name forward Ryan O'Reilly the 23rd captain in franchise history, sources told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

An announcement is reportedly expected to be made this coming week.

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who signed with the Vegas Golden Knights this offseason, last wore the "C" for the Blues.

"He is a good choice," Pietrangelo told Rutherford via text message. "One of the hardest working guys I know. Leads by example every day. Has succeeded in this league for a long time, and for good reason. I was happy to have him by my side for a few years. Great person, teammate, and player!

"He will make a great captain. Good luck to him, no doubt he is the right choice."

The 11-year veteran is as decorated as they come. O'Reilly has already won a Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy, Selke Trophy, and Lady Byng Trophy. The 29-year-old tallied 61 points in 71 games last season and is considered one of the league's premier two-way centers.

O'Reilly was acquired in a franchise-altering trade with the Buffalo Sabres in July 2018 in exchange for Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, Tage Thompson, a 2019 first-round pick (Ryan Johnson), and a 2021 second-rounder.

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It's officially go time - soon.

On Sunday, the NHL unveiled preliminary information about its upcoming campaign. The league will begin a 56-game regular season on Jan. 13, start its playoffs May 11, and award the Stanley Cup - if all goes according to plan - in July. Of course, in the COVID-19 era, everything is subject to change.

What's new and exciting? The 2020-21 campaign calls for temporary realignment due to border closures. The seven Canadian NHL teams are set to form a one-time North Division, while the 24 American clubs are to be split into three other divisions - the East, Central, and West.

Here are some initial thoughts on the four new groups.

North Division

Teams: Canadiens, Canucks, Flames, Jets, Maple Leafs, Oilers, Senators

You can argue the Canadian teams have lucked out, seeing as the top four clubs from each division qualify for the playoffs and the North Division features only seven teams. In the same breath, you can argue they didn't luck out, seeing as right now, the North is the most difficult division to handicap.

Forget the All-Canadian tag; it should be known as the All-Chaos Division.

It's true, none of Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Montreal are top-of-mind Cup contenders. Yet, in a normal season with 82 games and traditional divisions, all six franchises would absolutely challenge for a playoff spot. And the difference in high-end talent and depth between the six squads is essentially negligible. Something will have to give, every night.

The Flames, Canadiens, and Jets all boast first-rate starting goaltenders. The Maple Leafs, Canucks, and Oilers all have offensive dynamos in Auston Matthews, Elias Pettersson, and Connor McDavid. And each team is flawed in some way or another. Take Toronto, for instance. Based on how all the Canadian clubs currently look on paper, the Leafs probably deserve the slight edge. But their recent playoff history inspires the opposite of confidence, so, again, there's little to no difference to be found ... right?

Ottawa is a different story. The Senators are still rebuilding, but they shouldn't be taken too lightly. They proved to be a hard out in 2019-20 under new head coach D.J. Smith, and moving forward, the Sens will be bursting at the seams with hungry youngsters. After a productive offseason, it's not outrageous to think Ottawa could claw its way to a sixth-place finish in the North. A run of bad luck and/or a slew of injuries could tank one of the playoff-worthy teams' momentum during the truncated season.

The division's top rivalry is clearly the Battle of Alberta, or super pest Matthew Tkachuk versus Calgary's cross-province pals in Edmonton. The Flames and Oilers typically meet four times a year; in 2020-21, it'll be more than double that. The schedule has yet to be released, but Canadian teams will face each other nine or 10 times over a four-month period. For this reason, also keep your eyes glued on the Toronto-Vancouver season series. There's zero chance fans and media in both cities will able to behave themselves.

The main takeaway: Realignment guarantees a Canadian team will make the final four for only the fourth time in 10 years. It's fair to say Canada - which last watched one of its teams win the Cup way back in 1993 - will take those odds.

East Division

Teams: Bruins, Capitals, Devils, Flyers, Islanders, Penguins, Rangers, Sabres

If the North consists of six good-but-not-great teams plus Ottawa, the East projects similarly but with New Jersey subbing in for the Senators as the division's lone non-threat and Buffalo playing the part of the disruptive wild card.

The normal Metropolitan Division projected to be a dog fight in 2020-21, and now Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, and the two New York teams must deal with Boston, the reigning Presidents' Trophy winner. On the flip side, perhaps we should temper our expectations for the Bruins, given the departure of Torey Krug (and possibly Zdeno Chara), the long-term layoffs for offensive spark plugs Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, and the overall wear and tear on a consistently elite team that's played a ton of hockey over the past decade. It's hard to get a feel for how good (or bad) Boston will be when the club is due to engage in 56 hard-fought regular-season games.

The Sabres, meanwhile, will be coming off a 10-month break and headlined by the bombshell acquisition of former MVP Taylor Hall. And while the overall strength of the roster is questionable, at best, Buffalo's top-six forward group of Hall, Jack Eichel, Eric Staal, Sam Reinhart, Jeff Skinner, and Victor Olofsson/Dylan Cozens could do some serious damage. Ultimately, it may not be enough to rock the boat in this revamped Metro, even in a small sample, but the Sabres' appeal is real. Oh, and don't forget about Rasmus Dahlin.

From a league-wide perspective, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins meeting Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals eight times - or, on average, twice a month - to start 2021, will be awesome. Crosby's 33, Ovechkin's 35; the generational talents won't be sharing the ice forever. Cherish this rush of must-see action.

Central Division

Teams: Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, Lightning, Panthers, Predators, Red Wings, Stars

At the moment, "predictable" is the best descriptor for the Central.

The Lightning will likely finish first in the standings; Carolina and Dallas will probably end up occupying second and third, respectively, with the two clubs fitting the "scary at full potential" mold quite well; and Columbus and Nashville will surely jockey for the final playoff berth. The Blue Jackets, led by Pierre-Luc Dubois, Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, and two young goalies, are more reliable than the sputtering Predators at this point, so even the drama surrounding the No. 4 spot should be subdued.

That leaves Chicago, Detroit, and Florida out of the hunt. It's possible the Panthers get their act together and find themselves competing in meaningful games down the stretch for once, but that would have to coincide with both Nashville and Columbus underperforming. Put another way, there's a clear divide between the Central's top five and bottom three, and the end-of-season gap between the Lightning and lowly Red Wings should be gigantic.

Realignment has robbed us of the potential for a rematch of the 2020 Cup Final. Having the Lightning and Stars duke it out for eight regular-season contests is a nice consolation, however, and you wonder if any tension from the six-game bubble series will boil over into the new campaign.

West Division

Teams: Avalanche, Blues, Coyotes, Ducks, Golden Knights, Kings, Sharks, Wild

The first thing that comes to mind after scanning the West Division is the solid chance that the Cup is presented to one of these clubs if the NHL can make it to July. Vegas and Colorado are arguably two of the best three teams in the league, and St. Louis is in the top 10, too.

It will be very interesting to monitor the West standings and see who among those three teams claims the top seed ahead of what should be a wild first two rounds of the postseason. The Golden Knights are firmly in win-now mode; the Avalanche are on a seemingly unstoppable trajectory; and the Blues are just two years removed from a Cup win. At the individual player level, there's no reason why Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon won't continue to make his case for best-player-on-the-planet honors, while Alex Pietrangelo is about to make his debut for Vegas after a 12-year run with St. Louis. It's possible the Art Ross, Hart, Lindsay, and Norris trophies are handed out to West players.

Minnesota and Arizona are primed to battle for the fourth playoff spot, with the three California teams appearing bound for the sixth, seventh, and eighth positions in this top-heavy division. Two Cali-related side plots out of the gate: 1) Are the Sharks playing in San Jose or in a safer community? And 2) Is the Evander Kane-Ryan Reaves rivalry alive and well in 2021?

John Matisz is theScore's national hockey writer. Contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com) or through Twitter (@MatiszJohn).

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Although the NHL announced its plan for the upcoming season on Sunday, there are still potential roadblocks north of the border that could complicate the league's intended format.

The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have yet to sign off on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Montreal Canadiens resuming play in their home buildings, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

However, talks are reportedly expected to continue early this coming week.

The Ontario government said Friday it hopes the Leafs and Sens can play the season in Canada.

The Vancouver Canucks have also reportedly not yet received approval from the British Columbia government.

The NHL's plan consists of a North Division, in which all Canadian teams would exclusively play each other. Moving all Canadian teams to the United States, or having all of them play in a single hub in Canada, are two ideas that have been floated around if issues arise. Given the league already announced its realignment, the former seems unlikely now.

The 2020-21 campaign is set to begin Jan. 13, with training camps opening Jan. 3 for teams that played in the 2020 postseason. As a non-playoff team, the Sens can open training camp Dec. 31.

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The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to play a 2020-21 regular season that will begin on Jan. 13 and feature 56 games.

The league also confirmed the realignment of its divisions and the creation of four new ones for the upcoming season: North, West, Central, and East.

Due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL and NHLPA are willing to be as flexible as possible in the coming weeks while working with local and national government and health authorities.

The NHL and NHLPA determined that the ongoing United States-Canada border closure requires the division realignment. The plan is for teams to play games in home arenas, but the NHL will be prepared to host contests in one or more "neutral site" venues tied to each division if that becomes necessary.

"While we are well aware of the challenges ahead, as was the case last spring and summer, we are continuing to prioritize the health and safety of our participants and the communities in which we live and play," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. "... I thank the NHLPA, particularly executive director Don Fehr, for working cooperatively with us to get our league back on the ice."

The regular season will conclude May 8. It will feature exclusively intradivisional play, meaning a team will square off with the clubs in its division eight times. In the North Division, squads will face each other nine or 10 times.

The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature 16 teams in a traditional best-of-seven, four-round format wrapping up in mid-July. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the postseason, with intradivisional play continuing for the first two rounds.

Formal training camps are set to begin on Jan. 3, and there will be no preseason games. The seven teams that didn't participate in last season's Return to Play can begin training camp on Dec. 31.

The league has also reportedly established dates for its key events, such as the 2021 draft, the opening of free agency, and the trade deadline.

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Now that the NHL and NHLPA have tentatively agreed on a framework for the upcoming 2020-21 season's 56-game schedule, some key dates have begun to emerge.

The impending campaign would begin on Jan. 13 and would conclude on May 8 under the proposed format, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, with free agency beginning on July 28, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports. The 2021 trade deadline would be April 12, while the 2021 NHL Draft would take place on July 23 and 24, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Players would have the option to opt out of the approaching season. The opt-out deadline is Dec. 24 for players on teams that didn't make the 2019-20 playoffs and Dec. 27 for players on playoff squads, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Each team will need to carry at least three goaltenders at all times this season between their active roster and taxi squad, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Additionally, clubs must sign Group II restricted free agents by Feb. 11 for them to be eligible to play during the season and players on one-year deals can sign extensions as of March 12, Friedman adds.

The NHL has a call scheduled with the Board of Governors for 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. A separate call is also planned with the league's general managers for 2 p.m. ET, LeBrun adds.

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NHL fans will soon be able to circle a date on the calendar for the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

Under the tentative agreement for the upcoming 2020-21 season, teams will need to submit their protected lists on July 17 with the expansion draft set to take place on July 21, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

The event would take place just days before the 2021 NHL Draft is reportedly set to begin on July 23.

Seattle will follow the same rules the Vegas Golden Knights did for their expansion draft in 2017. The organization will be allowed to pick one player from each team excluding the Golden Knights.

Each team will have the option to protect either seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie or eight skaters and one goalie. The rest of the players on the roster will be exposed, except first- and second-year players and all unsigned draft choices.

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In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

The 2007 world juniors were held in Mora and Leksand, Sweden. Canada traveled overseas in search of its third consecutive gold medal, and the tournament favorite delivered by going 6-0-0 and claiming its first championship on European soil in a decade.

The IIHF made some modifications to the structure of the tournament in 2007, as teams received three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, and one point for an overtime loss. Other changes included four-on-four sudden-death overtime during the round robin, as well as shootouts - which played a big role for Canada - in medal games if overtime didn't produce a winner.

The roster

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

Canada used its experience to its advantage in 2007, bringing back 11 players from the previous year's gold-medal-winning outfit. Five of the club's seven defenders were returnees, and it paid dividends, as Canada's offensive firepower was lacking relative to some of its previous championship teams.

The first game on Canada's schedule was a stiff test versus host Sweden, but the defending champs pulled out a 2-0 victory. Next up was another high-stakes clash with the United States, which resulted in a 6-3 win. The Canadians closed out the round robin with 3-1 and 3-0 decisions over Germany and Slovakia, respectively.

Canada earned a bye to the semifinals, in which it met the U.S. for a second time. The tilt was one of the most memorable in tournament history, as Canada squeaked out a 2-1 shootout win. The Canadians took on Russia - their oldest rival - in the final and won 4-2 to seal yet another flawless run to gold.

The stars

Goaltending was the primary difference-maker for Canada in 2007, as Price put forth arguably the most dominant effort in tournament history. Two years after being drafted fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens, Price stood on his head for his country, posting a .961 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average across six wins. He was named tournament MVP and kicked off an international career that remains unblemished 13 years later.

Toews led the team in scoring with seven points and played a gigantic role in the shootout victory over the U.S. He and Letang - who captained the squad - both earned spots on the media All-Star team for their performances.

The key moment

Part of the aforementioned tweaks to the overtime rules included implementing a three-player shootout to mirror the NHL's rather than the five-shooter rule generally employed by the IIHF. However, there was one significant twist: once the first three shooters were used, teams were allowed to send out whoever they wanted, including repeats. Enter Toews.

In the nail-biting semifinal versus the U.S., the future Chicago Blackhawks captain scored three times in a seven-round shootout. It remains one of the tournament's indelible moments, and his heroics came after an overtime period in which the Americans registered 12 shots to Canada's two. Toews' coming-out party paved the way for Canada to carry its momentum to another gold medal.

The fallout

Several of Canada's 2007 champions turned out to be role players at the NHL level, but a small group went on to have dominant professional careers. Price won Olympic gold with Canada in 2014 and a World Cup of Hockey title in 2016. He's also won a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy.

Toews carried his clutch gene with him to the pros, winning three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe, a Selke, and two Olympic golds after making a name for himself in Leksand.

Letang and Marchand - who won gold again with Canada in 2008 - also went on to become NHL All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions.

Canada won gold again in 2008 and 2009 to run its streak to five in a row.

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