TAMPA, Fla. _ No one knows what is going to happen to the NHL season. But that doesn't stop anyone from theorizing. There are a lot of ideas bouncing around, most of which involve summer hockey.
The NHL is listening to just about all ideas. But the league does not want to mess with next season.
"The only definite for us is we certainly don't want to do anything around a resumption of play this season that will impact our ability to have a full season next year," deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic.
A group of players have come up with an idea that involves August-September playoffs and a March-June offseason, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. It sounds weird, but just might work.
There are projections from health experts that a return to normal could take until July or August. With that in mind, the thought of resuming play in May or June seems ambitious.
Maybe a May return is possible, either in an empty arena or with a small crowd. But if someone gets sick, it will shut things down again and probably for good. Sticking with this concept of an "abundance of caution," waiting it out might be a better idea.
Starting the playoffs in August could avoid overlap with the Olympics (scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9), which NBC clearly does not want.
The idea Seravalli broke down features training camps in early July, finishing out some of the regular season late July, two months of playoffs, then the draft, free agency and training camps in October. Next season would start in November, with a condensed schedule still featuring 82 games.
Why do we need regular-season games? Two reasons.
One: to even out the standings. Even if teams don't play 82 games, they could play the same amount. Right now, they range from 68 to 71.
Two: Players want a warmup. Anyone coming back from an injury tells you that practice doesn't replicate real game action. They don't want to go into the playoffs off four or five months without action.
But there are also reasons not to play regular-season games. That means some teams would reassemble and have a mini-training camp, just to play a few games and disband again.
The 2020-21 season could start in November without being shortened in number of games. It would mean no All-Star Game or bye week, and condensing the game schedule. November and December would look more like the tight February and March most teams play.
There's not saying that this idea will happen. It's just that right now: an idea.
"We're literally now six days into the pause," Daly said. "We don't know how long we're going to be in pause and what the world's going to look like over the next couple of days, hours, weeks."
