Team changes In the first week of July 2020, Dynamo St. Petersburg unexpectedly announced that they would be withdrawing from the league immediately, due to insufficient funding. Seven Dynamo players were then signed by SK Gorny St. Petersburg, but that club soon ran into financial difficulties as well, due in large part to being dropped by their main sponsor. A few weeks after Dynamo's folding, the league announced the creation of a new team,
МSМО 7.62 to fill the vacancy. Playing out of
Podmoskovie Ice Palace in
Voskresensk,
Moscow Oblast, 7.62's roster was filed entirely by players 18 and under, several of whom were members of the
Russian national junior team. Ultimately, SK Gorny was unable to attract sufficient sponsor investment and folded. Facing the very real possibility of St. Petersburg having zero ZhHL teams active for the 2020–21 season, a partnership between the junior department of
HC Dinamo Saint Petersburg and the
SKA-Neva club was able to establish a new team at the last moment. The team, called Dinamo-Neva Saint Petersburg (also romanized as Dynamo-Neva), included players from the 2019–20 rosters of both Dynamo St. Petersburg and SK Gorny and was coached by
Russian women's national team head coach
Yevgeni Bobariko.
Schedule On 19 August 2020, the league released its schedule for the season, with the opening matches to be played on the 19 September. The schedule included a two-month gap without any games from December to February, time that could be used to accommodate rescheduling due to the pandemic and in which the league's All-Star Game and the
2021 Winter Universiade would be held (the Universiade was later rescheduled for December 2021 and ultimately cancelled). However, a day before the season was due to begin, the league postponed the start of the season to 3 October after encountering issues securing Russian visas for KRS Vanke Rays players – all but two of whom were international players – and in the hopes that SK Gorny may find sufficient sponsorships to participate. The delay also allowed teams to hold a short pre-season training camp.
Showcases On 22 December 2020, the Russian national ZhHL team (active ZhHL players who are also members of the Russian national team) competed in the second annual "Priceless Match" (), an outdoor showcase game which pits the team against a men's team of high-profile Russian retired athletes, business executives, and arts and entertainment personalities.
COVID-19 impact KRS Vanke Rays temporarily relocated from
Shenzhen Dayun Arena in
Shenzhen to the Ice Palace V.M. Bobrova in
Stupino, Moscow Oblast for the 2020–21 season due to the increased immigration restrictions for entry into Russia that were implemented in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. Players are tested for the virus once every five days, and before the start of every game.
Broadcasting The league streamed many games on its official
YouTube channel, the same streaming option used in the previous season. In Russia, select games were also aired on the KHL TV channel. Limited public attendance was permitted at games throughout much of the season. == Teams ==