20-21 season: how will the NHL pull it off?

[x Tame Impala]

Any specifics on the NBA using a bubble or multiple bubbles? I don’t see how it’ll work at all during Winter-COVID

 

[Mrfenn92]

Bill Daly still shooting for a Jan 1st season start. Obviously lots of work to do but next 7-10 days expect to see a lot of stuff coming out

 

[BobbyJet]

Bill Daly still shooting for a Jan 1st season start. Obviously lots of work to do but next 7-10 days expect to see a lot of stuff coming out

In the early summer when the NHL was in limbo it was the same as now. Very quiet. The NHL wasn't saying much .... the playoffs in a bubble didn't look promising at all, then came a series of announcements changing everything.
The logistics are far different this time to get the upcoming NHL season in but hopefully, we'll hear some concrete plans before December.

 

[Pez68]

I see zero chance the NBA or NHL has a full season. It's hard enough for the NFL who only travels and plays one game a week. It will be almost impossible to pull off, playing and traveling a few times a week.

 

[Styles]

Boqvist traveled back to Chicago so I don’t know if that means something is in the works and more players might start reporting to their cities in the coming weeks or not.

 

[SimpleJack]

I see zero chance the NBA or NHL has a full season. It's hard enough for the NFL who only travels and plays one game a week. It will be almost impossible to pull off, playing and traveling a few times a week.

NBA is doing 72 games starting the 22nd of December. Close enough to the real thing.

 

[Malaka]

Hope it’s a January 15th start date

 

[coolhand]

I can't see 72 games starting 1/1 unless they play until the end of June and then start the playoffs. Even at that rate, that's 3 games a week for 6 months. That would be a brutal schedule.

 

[bwana63]

I can't see 72 games starting 1/1 unless they play until the end of June and then start the playoffs. Even at that rate, that's 3 games a week for 6 months. That would be a brutal schedule.

No chance. ~50 regular season games and hope like hell that they can get back to a semblance of a normal season in '21-22.

 

[coolhand]

No chance. ~50 regular season games and hope like hell that they can get back to a semblance of a normal season in '21-22.

Even 50 is a stretch, but could be done I guess if the players agree. 40 is more realistic as long as we have no lockdowns this winter.

 

[bwana63]

Even 50 is a stretch, but could be done I guess if the players agree. 40 is more realistic as long as we have no lockdowns this winter.

Everyone's getting a haircut. The league and the PA are gonna do their damndest to maximize revenues. #1 on that list is product for their carriers.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Even 50 is a stretch, but could be done I guess if the players agree. 40 is more realistic as long as we have no lockdowns this winter.

Lockdowns are coming. It's just a matter of time, just as it was in March.

I'm thinking semi-normal summers, winters in lockdown for the foreseeable future.

 

[bwana63]

I'm thinking semi-normal summers, winters in lockdown for the foreseeable future.

Are you living under a rock? Pfizer just announced their vaccine has ~90% efficacy. Yes, this winter is going to be bad. But this isn't going to continue ad infinitum.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Are you living under a rock? Pfizer just announced their vaccine has ~90% efficacy. Yes, this winter is going to be bad. But this isn't going to continue ad infinitum.

Don't trust it will be available and proven safe until late 2022 at the earliest.
Anything else is potentially criminally irresponsible. Two months is not enough time to prove long-term safety. There's a reason why vaccines take 4-5 years at best and 10+ years to develop on average.

 

[bwana63]

Don't trust it will be available and proven safe until late 2022 at the earliest.
Anything else is potentially criminally irresponsible. Two months is not enough time to prove long-term safety. There's a reason why vaccines take 4-5 years at best and 10+ years to develop on average.

ok, then

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Even 50 is a stretch, but could be done I guess if the players agree. 40 is more realistic as long as we have no lockdowns this winter.

They can play through a lockdown if the government okays it. The Premier League is doing it.

 

[Bubba88]

I'm guessing we will see a Season like 12-13 and About 50 games. It's possible, it would please all the deals with Sponsors and the TV deal. I'd think About early february as start with a Format of Divsion(s) only during that time.

 

[Muffinalt]

Wonder if the expansion draft ultimately ends up being effected by all this too.

 

[bwana63]

Burnside ($): NHL's 2020-21 plan: What we're hearing about the start date, hubs and format

haven't read yet, so no teasers

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

It's not looking good, at all.

But I imagine there's some very real incentive among the owners and GMs to burn that year off of player contracts so something will be done and we'll see at least 48 games.
Fans in the stands? Doubtful. Maybe 25% capacity if we're lucky.

 

[Brightwing]

It's not looking good, at all.

But I imagine there's some very real incentive among the owners and GMs to burn that year off of player contracts so something will be done and we'll see at least 48 games.
Fans in the stands? Doubtful. Maybe 25% capacity if we're lucky.

I don't believe contracts slide if the season is cancelled. Instead, the players don't get paid and they lose a year of their contracts. But please, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I know signing bonuses are paid even in lockout seasons, so perhaps they would have to pay that?

Another question I have, there's a lot of talk about summer Olympics in Tokyo in July. Do we know if that's happening? I mean will the vaccine be broadly rolled out by then?

 

[hawksrule]

Don't trust it will be available and proven safe until late 2022 at the earliest.
Anything else is potentially criminally irresponsible. Two months is not enough time to prove long-term safety. There's a reason why vaccines take 4-5 years at best and 10+ years to develop on average.

Most of the covid vaccines in development are being built upon the foundations of the work towards a sars vaccine from last decade. They weren’t starting from square one.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Most of the covid vaccines in development are being built upon the foundations of the work towards a sars vaccine from last decade. They weren’t starting from square one.

Ok. That makes it different then. I didn't know that. Makes sense actually.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Take it however but both the ducks and devils have Lundestrom and Boqvist, Jesper from their teams in the shl. The 7 teams that weren’t apart of the covid bubble will be allowed to start camp a full week before everyone else.

 

[Hinterland]

Don't trust it will be available and proven safe until late 2022 at the earliest.
Anything else is potentially criminally irresponsible. Two months is not enough time to prove long-term safety. There's a reason why vaccines take 4-5 years at best and 10+ years to develop on average.

China's Sinovac vaccine is safe, Brazil institute says

May be risky but they're not gonna wait until 2022. Several candidates in phase 3 already. Brazil is expecting to approve Chinese Sinovac vaccine by the end of the year and launch distribution in February. That vaccine is already available in China with no reported issues.

You're right that nobody knows about the long term effects of those vaccines but most of those currently in phase 3 are probably gonna be available this winter already. I wouldn't see that as the end of covid though because most people probably don't want any part of those vaccines and nobody knows for how long it will protect us and how strong the protection is gonna be. Those trials are being done with young, healthy people but what about kids, or, most importantly, older and sick people. How safe is it for them, how efficient will the vaccines protect them?

So yeah. Vaccines are coming quickly but does it solve anything? I don't see it. At least not anytime soon. I don't see how you could play an NHL season in a situation like this.