The NHL and NHLPA continue to work through plans for the upcoming season but as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets today, if January 1 is still the target, things will have to be finalized before the end of November. Training camps will need to open partway through December—remember, the seven teams not included in this summer’s playoff format are expected to get an extra week of camp—meaning players will have to soon start returning from around the world to serve out any potential mandated quarantines.
LeBrun also reports that the focus is on a schedule that includes at least 60 regular season games, but would see the Stanley Cup awarded by July 15 at the latest. That would give the league enough time to reset the clock for 2021-22 when the Seattle Kraken are scheduled to come into play, hopefully under a regular NHL schedule. Obviously, there are huge hurdles still to work through, including the idea of pro-rating player salaries given the reduced schedule.
- The challenging year for NHL scouts continues as Corey Pronman of The Athletic reports that teams will not be allowed to scout U.S. National Team Development Program home games in person for “some time.” That comes after news that a similar restriction has been placed on University of Michigan games through the end of the calendar year. While video scouting has come a long way, teams obviously still would rather have a person in the building seeing these prospects up close throughout the season.
- The St. Louis Blues have hired Ryan Podell as their new Director of Performance, working on the strength and conditioning of the team’s players. Podell has a long and varied resume including time with the Philadelphia Flyers, Indianapolis Colts, and Portland Trail Blazers. He’ll have to navigate a very different world just like everyone else, working with the Blues athletes while still abiding by the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
dave frost nhlpa
Bubble three divisions in the US,one in Canada.
20 days in the bubble,5 days out of the bubble.
Play within your bubble,including playoffs.
Top 6 teams make the playoffs,with 3vs6,4v5 in a one game play in to set the 4 playoffs per division.
Divisional playoff winners meet for conference finals and Stanley Cup in one bubble.
The NHL & NBA were almost perfect with their bubbles.
riverrat55
Praying to the Hockey Gods that we have a season. Provided all players and staff members of each NHL Franchise , stay safe and have no outbreak while playing Hockey and bringing all fans a change from the chaos going on in Canada & USA and around the world.