What should the NHL do about a 2020-21 season? (A fan’s perspective)

 I am going to start off with the opinions in this piece are purely my own. 

 

We all know how crazy 2020 has been so far. We saw the NHL suspend the season and then resume play in August with the playoffs. We saw the usual with the Wild not making it past the play-in round, losing to the Canucks in that round. It was nice to see hockey on TV again—at least some sense of normalcy (if that is what you want to call it.) I’m not going to go into about attending NHL games again, because that is a whole other argument that I am not going to get into.

If there were a normal NHL season, we’d be in the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer month. Even though they are recognizing and still doing all the promotional stuff for it, it’s not the same. I’d be at the Wild’s Hockey Fights Cancer game with two good friends (who lost a sister and aunt to breast cancer recently). I’d have my “Hockey Fights Cancer” sign with the names of two cousins and two friends who have fought Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Lymphoma. Hockey teams would be honoring those fans who have fought the battle against cancer. But as of right now, it’s not the same. There aren’t any NHL games being played right now (I know, “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”)

Pretty much describes me...

However, I get to watch some hockey—thanks to college hockey that is being played (thanks to my alma mater, the University of Minnesota), but it’s not NHL hockey and it will work for the time being.

Back to the NHL—so far, we’ve had the release of the third jerseys for all 31 teams (Reverse Retro as what they’re being called by Adidas and the NHL), the NHL draft and free agency, the announcements of the 2021 Winter Classic at Target Field (Minnesota) and the 2021 All-Star Games being postponed until 2022 because of the realistic possibility of fans not being able to attend either event.

So, now that we’re approaching Thanksgiving—what is going on with the NHL? If you’re like me, I want to see hockey on my TV when I’m working in the evening (yes, I work from home in the evening as part of a work-related project I’m working on). I’ve been working through a list of TV shows to watch (or binge watch again like Friends, Gossip Girl, Schitt’s Creek, Bob’s Burgers—to name a few), but that can get old after a while. The last news that has the NHL and NHLPA still aiming for a January 1, 2021  (or February 1, 2021 seen recently on social media) start date with a condensed/shortened regular season schedule and the playoffs not taking all summer so that the 2021-22 season can start on time. I’ve seen posts on social media about the NHL and NHLPA still negotiating that and the NHL wanting the NHLPA to consider another pay deferral (or something like that). Then there are the logistics such as players needing to quarantine (depending on the location), hub/bubble sites, etc.—and the clock is ticking if there is going to be any sort of training camp next month. 

Here’s my perspective—both the NHL and NHLPA need to get these negotiations done and get a regular season start date set in stone. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other hockey fans who feel the same way as I do. There needs to be some sense of normalcy right now in a time were there isn’t any. I would love to have the distraction of an NHL game on my TV (and leave politics out of the game). I would like to see my twitter feed be filled with complaints about NHL officiating or so-and-so is a crappy player—the stuff I MISS seeing right now. Having an NHL season would provide material for bloggers (such as myself) to write about. It isn’t easy trying to come up with ideas for blog posts that are hockey related when there’s no hockey being played—NHL games I mean.

Someone may comment that hey, the NFL and College football are on. Yes, they are having games televised on TV. It isn’t the same without fans in the stands (the fake crowd noise is obvious) and the politics being included. I haven’t watched as many football games this season because of it. It is something that I don’t want to see and I’m going to leave it at that. Besides, football season gets old for me around the time the NHL regular season should be starting.

Enough about football and back to hockey…

The NHL and the NHLPA need to get this hammered out soon. I can’t speak for ALL hockey fans, but I am hoping for some kind of an NHL season so that the NHL can get back to the regular September training camp, regular season opening in October, and the Stanley Cup playoffs done in June schedule again. I want to be at the Winter Classic at Target Field. I want to see that, since I was at the Stadium Series games at TCF Bank Stadium bank in 2016. But most of all, I just want to see NHL hockey back on TV and for there to be somewhat of a season. 

2016 World Cup of Hockey…and what does that mean for the NHL’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics?

Today, in Toronto, the NHL and the NHL Players Association announced the World Cup of Hockey and the format for the tournament that is scheduled to take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto from September 17-October 1, 2016.

With this announcement today, what does this mean for the NHL’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea? As of right now, there isn’t an answer on the NHL’s involvement in the South Korea games. When asked about the impact of the World Cup of Hockey (which hasn’t been played since 2004), Gary Bettman told the AP “I don’t think one has anything to do with the other.” However, both sides have dodged answering about the Olympics. The AP did state that the players "made it very clear they want to keep going to the Winter Olympics every four years," along with the sentiment of the team owners "don't seem to like shutting down their league for two-plus weeks in the season while hoping their stars don't get injured at the Olympics." (The issue was raised about stars being injured in the Olympics when the Islanders' John Tavares suffered an MCL and meniscus while playing for Team Canada in the 2014 Sochi games and missed the rest of the season). 

Talks have not been scheduled regarding the NHL's involvement in the 2018 games in South Korea with the International Ice Hockey Federation. 

The two week tournament will feature approximately 150 NHL players. 

NHL.com had the following quote from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the creation of Team North America and Team Europe:

"Those two teams, they're more competitive than any other country team would have been for this event, so it will make the competition more competitive as well...Otherwise, you would have had a country with maybe just a couple of NHL players. Now you have what are going to be two very strong teams highlighting more NHL players being included than any other way we could have done it."

However, the World Cup of Hockey is not without it's critics. Tom Gulitti (Devils beat writer for The Record) posted this criticism on Twitter:

(courtesy of bleacherreport.com)

The level of play at this tournament will have to wait to be seen. I'm pretty sure there will be more coming out in regards to questions about the level of play as the tournament draws closer. 

Meanwhile...

The following format was announced, along with the team pools, and schedule for the tournament:

Team Groups:

Group A:

Team Canada
Team Czech Republic
Team Europe
Team USA

Group B:

Team FinlandTeam North AmericaTeam RussiaTeam Sweden

(Team North America will be made up of North American players who are 23 and younger, while Team Europe will consist of players from other countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, et al). 

The schedule is:

Preliminary Round (round robin)

Saturday, Sept. 17
Team Europe vs. Team USA, 3:30 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team Czech Republic, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 18
Team Russia vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Finland vs. Team North America, 8 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 19
Team Czech Republic vs. Team Europe, 3 p.m.
Team North America vs. Team Russia, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 20
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team USA, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 21
Team North America vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team Europe, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 22
Team Finland vs. Team Russia, 3 p.m.
Team Czech Republic vs. Team USA, 8 p.m.

Semifinals (single elimination; A1 vs. B2, B1 vs. A2)

Saturday, Sept. 24
Semifinal 1, TBD

Sunday, Sept. 25
Semifinal 2, TBD

Final (best-of-three)

Tuesday, Sept. 27
Final Game 1, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29
Final Game 2, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1
Final Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary)

(Schedule and group information courtesy of nhlnfa.com)

According to nhl.com, the tournament will be played using NHL rules and officials. 

It will be interesting to see how this World Cup of Hockey plays out, considering it's going to be taking place during teams' training camp, leading up to the start of the 2016-17 NHL season. 

(link to NHL.com article NHL, NHLPA unveil plans for 2016 World Cup)