It wouldn’t just be the best of the best, athletes who are already a step above their peers suffering from a shortened off-season, but whole NHL teams.That’s time that the NHL is quickly running out of.The truth is that when the season is inevitably cancelled, the hard questions are going to be about interpreting conditional picks, determining draft order and examining which contract-pending NCAA free agents are going to sign.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has publicly acknowledged for the first time that the balance of the 2019-20 season could possibly be cancelled, but … Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said a conference call is expected to take place involving representatives from all 31 teams on how they’ll proceed. Should the NHL push to maintain this playoff structure, playoffs would need to start at the beginning of July, perhaps the second week at the latest. That’s just not going to be 2020.Coming back any sooner puts that all at risk.What none of these plans consider is the scope of the undertaking in the world as it is. One team that has remained steady throughout this process is the St. Louis Blues, as the defending champs were +1200 to repeat prior to the shutdown and continue to be found at that price today. There are not credits for what might/potentially happen, only what actually happens. The sooner they can move on from fixing 2019-20, the sooner they can make plans to address the hard questions for the future. The Colorado Avalanche—the No. That turned attention to the possibility of a handful of “hub cities” playing host for the rest of the regular-season schedule.Here’s what we know so far:What does this mean for the NHL moving forward?
He acknowledged how fast information is changing — and importantly, how it’s been changing for the worse, quickly. NHL teams, however, are constructed very differently. Trump reportedly told the commissioners that he hopes to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September.
While the NHL relies heavily on its gates to bring in revenue, the ultimate goal is to finish the 2019-20 season in some way, shape, or form — and do so without dramatically impacting the 2020-21 season.As of right now, no team training facilities are open, and the NHL is continuing to monitor the situation as a whole.There’s still no timetable regarding a possible return to play.GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. Perhaps the biggest concerns for players when considering this option is being away from their families for an extended period of time.“I know myself personally, I’m not interested in packing up and going away for that length of time away from my family.
Assuming the NHLPA would fight for some sort of break prior to the start of the season, let’s say those months are off the table. That was back in 1918-1919, when influenza affected one-quarter of the world population. It doesn’t treat the players in this league like their bodies are disposable and worth less than the glory of a tournament that hardly looks like the sport we love.Sorry, folks.