News Article: Wawrow: Buffalo a potential playoff site

[Selanne00008]

This could really make or break Buffalo on many levels re: NHL players and the media. How badly can the org screw it up? Comments from other teams how badly run it is? No organization? Players names misspelled everywhere?
What if there are positives that happen mid way? Screening process taking too long?

Or

Is it run with class and a high level of thought? It will be warm so the players from other teams will see how nice it is downtown in months they would typically never be in Buffalo?

 

[Djp]

a different playoff option

4 division winners geta buy
next 16 in.
4 4team groups play double elimination at neutrl sites
4 advance play 4 divison winners for 2 groups of 4 with same double elimination
best of 5 for cup final.

 

[Buffaloed]

Wawrow: playoffs? I have better things to do.

 

[Burgmania]

New rumors have the NHL looking at three sites: Manchester, NH; Grand Forks, ND; and Saskatoon, SK.

Buffalo is a little too heavily populated, and thus too high risk.

 

[kenfury]

All very good points but...God I hope they don't eat at 716. That place has always been so underwhelming. It's a cool venue with crappy food.

It has a kitchen. I have a feeling the player menu may be a bit different than regular 716 food.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

The neutral-sites idea looks like a no-go.

Instead, we’re looking at one NHL city per division to resume the season. Teams from that division would be brought to this location. And, it sounds like the plan is to complete the regular season — if possible. One idea, a triple-header per day at each location to get it done in three weeks. The players have to agree.

Looking at the CDC and Canadian information, I could see places like Edmonton, Minnesota and Raleigh being options if the league and the respective governments were willing.

 

[Husko]

This is so dumb. Just play out a couple games to get the relevant teams even and move on to the playoffs.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Royisgone]

Sigh. It's a fan based league. Almost all the revenues come from the gate.

You thought all star games were low effort? Wait until empty arena "playoff" games.

This is the first thing I thought of when I considered the possibility of empty arena playoff games.

If they really go down this path, it will be interesting to watch a few of the first games. I'll be surprised if intensity level is anything close to normal, for a playoff game.

If it's similar to regular season hockey (no hitting, no intensity, no animosity, generally boring hockey all the way around) I would not watch the games.

 

[Shootica]

If it would work anywhere, it would be Buffalo.

You have three rinks and can pretty much keep the whole thing a closed system. Players and team staff all stay in the HarborCenter Mariott. You'd likely get a single broadcast crew to do the whole thing, have them stay onsite too. Close off the whole property to the public if they aren't closed already. I can't imagine the hotel is going to be seeing too many guests for this timeframe, and Mariott has another property down the road that they could open to guests anyway. It shouldn't be to hard for the ice crew and operations to stay socially distanced from each other and the players, and you can live without the commercial break shovel crew for the time being to reduce staffing.

I'm sure I'm overlooking some aspects of gameday operations, and it would require buy-in from a bunch of different parties, but it seems manageable to keep everyone in a bubble and safe.

 

[kenfury]

If it would work anywhere, it would be Buffalo.

You have three rinks and can pretty much keep the whole thing a closed system. Players and team staff all stay in the HarborCenter Mariott. You'd likely get a single broadcast crew to do the whole thing, have them stay onsite too. Close off the whole property to the public if they aren't closed already. I can't imagine the hotel is going to be seeing too many guests for this timeframe, and Mariott has another property down the road that they could open to guests anyway. It shouldn't be to hard for the ice crew and operations to stay socially distanced from each other and the players, and you can live without the commercial break shovel crew for the time being to reduce staffing.

I'm sure I'm overlooking some aspects of gameday operations, and it would require buy-in from a bunch of different parties, but it seems manageable to keep everyone in a bubble and safe.

As I said in an earlier post they even have a full kitchen in 716 and can close off roads one block in each direction to build a real bubble with police/security. They have the hotel space, they have the ice, existing TV/media/truck infrastructure, they have the real estate, and they have the (limited) amenities. Although three weeks of a players only area they would require all CCTV footage to be destroyed as the hotel would be a gong show.

 

[Buffaloed]

"Murder at the 716" - hundreds are locked in for an abbreviated Stanley Cup playoffs while a killer roams Harborcenter knocking off NHL officials. Law enforcement is locked out and the killer must be caught before they run out of officials. Is it a player, a disgruntled fan, a coach, a vendor, the staff from the healthy scratch and sniff, or the black widow?

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

"Murder at the 716" - hundreds are locked in for an abbreviated Stanley Cup playoffs while a killer roams Harborcenter knocking off NHL officials. Law enforcement is locked out and the killer must be caught before they run out of officials. Is it a player, a disgruntled fan, a coach, a vendor, the staff from the healthy scratch and sniff, or the black widow?

Bogosian knows his way around pretty well.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

LeBrun: Inside NHL's centralized sites process and the...

As of Thursday afternoon, I was told Minnesota, Edmonton, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Dallas were among the 12 NHL spots being vetted.

I don’t think Raleigh (practice facility not done being built) and Buffalo (situation in New York state with COVID-19) are on that list of 12 cities at the moment. I don’t think they ended up making the cut even though both organizations would have had interest in being involved.

It will be interesting to see if Buffalo gets any more consideration if upstate gets opened up ahead of downstate...

 

[jd1970]

By June Sweden will have achieved herd immunity, they should play there. They could actually have people in the stands.
In North America, audiences won't be possible till October 2021 at the earliest.