What to know for the new CFL season

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After losing its entire 2020 season to the pandemic and surviving a brush with financial ruin, the Canadian Football League came back last year to play a full(ish) season and crown a Grey Cup champion. But things were a little off. Due to the lingering COVID crisis, the regular season didn't kick off until early August (two months later than usual), the schedule was cut to 14 games per team (four fewer than the standard) and the Grey Cup game didn't happen until Dec. 12 (a few weeks later than normal).

A general choppiness was evident between the lines too. In a league that prides itself on a wide-open style of play, the top-scoring teams (Winnipeg and Montreal) averaged only 22 offensive points per game — four fewer than what Hamilton topped the league with in 2019. Attendance went in the same direction as scoring, falling from an average of close to 23,000 fans per game pre-pandemic to a little over 19,000.

With a new labour deal in place and its first full 18-game season in three years set to kick off on Thursday night, the CFL is hoping for a return to better days on and off the field. Here are some things to know for the new season:

Some tweaks were made to boost scoring. Most noticeably, the hashmarks have been squeezed four yards closer to the middle of the field on both sides. They're now nine yards apart (it's about six in the NFL), giving offences more canvas to work with. Also, teams will get the ball five yards further downfield (at their own 40 instead of the 35) following an opponent's field goal or single, while kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the