HockeyIzCool

A decision on moving forward will likely be made before the end of the month. The 24 team approach is still the most favored, with 2 different sites each hosting 12 teams to start with. They're looking at 8-9 potential sites, but Las Vegas & Columbus are emerging as favorites. The NHLPA will have to approve whatever plan is proposed by the owners. International travel restrictions are posing difficulties with the time schedule the league had hoped for. Especially the Canadian travel ban which was recently extended until late June. If it is extended into July, it will complicate things greatly. They're now looking at a best case scenario of a couple weeks of practices and conditioning for teams in the beginning of July, with play starting in mid-July. Bettman is not even considering cancelling the season, even if it extends until September before the Cup is awarded.

Just waiting for the playoff series against Vegas to start.

I was curious whether there were betting odds on the Ducks. What I found for the most part was No, the majority of odds sites did not list the lower record teams, because for all intents and purposes, those teams were not even going to make the playoffs under the old system. Almost all the lower teams still won't make the playoffs under the proposed system, but the Ducks appear like they would be an exception. I finally did find a site that had the Ducks with 250 to 1 odds at winning the Cup this season, while another had them at 750 to 1.

And just when I thought 2020 could not get any weirder. Because of this worldwide pandemic, the Ducks would actually still have a chance, no matter how small, at winning the Stanley Cup. Step #1 would be a Best of Three matchup against Las Vegas. Not easy to get lucky and win 4 out of 7 against a better team, but winning 2 of 3? Entirely possible, especially if you get good goaltending. The icing on the cake would be the fact L.A. & San Jose both miss out.

I doubt you would be saying that if the Ducks had been in 1st Place of the division.

Wayne Gretzky is saying that he sees hockey returning sometime this summer, perhaps as early as June. The regular season would not be played, and it would move right to playoffs. Neutral sites in Canada are being explored, with teams, officials and any needed staff being sequestered, and obviously no public in attendance at the games. They could easily accomplish this, if they maintained tight control over all being sequestered. The Playoffs could perhaps start in 2 separate venues, 8 teams per venue, 2 Games each day, so players still get a day off between games. Then when it's down to 4 teams, just move everything to a single venue for the Conference Finals & Cup Finals. The key is making sure nobody gets infected with the virus, because if they do, there's a big problem. And if it's a player, that would be the end of this whole experiment. In terms of teams on the bubble of making the playoffs, they could have some sort of Wild Card game to give these teams a chance. But I'm not sure they'll even bother with that, and may just decide to take the standings as they were, and just tell the 9th place teams they're out of luck.

I've come up with a solution. It does assume that play can be resumed, hopefully With fans allowed to attend, by November. So in early November, you resume 2019-20 Season play where it left off. You try to rework the schedule, playing roughly 50-75% of the games previously planned, concentrating perhaps on those with less travel involved, and with more relevance towards the Playoff standings. Focus more on those teams on the bubble of making/not making the playoffs, since they have the most to gain/lose. Finish by Thanksgiving, and then take a few days off for the holiday. Resume with the Playoffs, under a much tighter schedule, doing lots of back to backs, which are usually avoided. If possible, finish the 1st 3 Rounds by Christmas, although that might be tight. Come back after Christmas with either the 3rd Round, or the Stanley Cup Finals. Schedule one of the Finals games on New Years Day. Go back to an every other day schedule, and wrap the Finals up by January 10-15. Take the rest of January off. Everything resets. Open Free Agency and allow Trades. Open Training Camps by February 20. Play a very abbreviated Pre-Season schedule. Start the "2020-21 Season" by March 5. Play a shortened season, roughly 60 Games, concentrating on Conference matchups, and less travel. Perhaps make the games against teams in the other conference Once only, like they have done in prior years. Finish the Regular Season by the end of June. Repeat the prior season's playoff model, awarding the Stanley Cup by mid-August. Well, that's my idea. I just don't see how they can resume a game with as much physical contact as hockey, until the current situation has calmed WAY down. You're going to see a lot of athletes, in all different sports, who decline to put their well being in danger, if the virus situation is still unsafe and tentative. I think Baseball is in a much tougher position. Their season was on the verge of starting, and they Need to play Outdoors, and are extremely sensitive to Rain. Although Hockey in Summer seems bizarre, it is not impossible, whereas Baseball in December in New York, is a fantasy.

Don't worry, the Resident says that things will start getting back to normal by next week. I'm sure the NHL will be back playing in less than 10 days. 🙂

IF they are still able to hold the Playoffs, it's not going to be until mid-late May. I don't see them resuming the regular season.

The only good thing to say is that it felt like the Ducks season was over weeks/months ago, so if it really is officially over, it won't feel much different.

There was a reporter on the radio this morning who said that the NBA is talking about going right to the postseason assuming this situation settles down by the end of April. He said there is probably zero chance they resume the season as it stood. It wouldn't surprise me if the NHL does likewise.

Suspension of season is being announced in the next couple of hours.

I'm talking about the deadline to decide. It is usually in early March, a month before the season ends. If that's March 14 this year, how is that different than usual?

No, it's usually about a month before the season ends. We're strongly considering dropping our seats. We've been season seat holders since before the 1st preseason game of the inaugural season. I imagine we're not alone. It's getting difficult to give away our tickets to clients, and can't even sell them on Stub Hub for more than half the face value.

What about Eaves? What about Kesler? Could they be planning a trade of their 1st Round Pick for a high priced player, and needed cap space?