Sportsnet Elliotte Friedman: Some of the biggest questions the NHL faces after pausing its season

[Jean_Jacket41]

By going to 24 you bring big markets like Chicago, Montreal and New York back into the game and that will recoup some of the lost revenue.

Can you imagine the buzz if Montreal beat Edmonton in the first round and then had to play Boston?

Any playoffs suggestion that has the eternal losers in the playoffs has to be shut down.

1993 Forever!

 

[Centrum Hockey]

A completely cancelled season would be terrible.The 2019-2020 bruins would go down in history like the 1994 expos.

 

[Lobster57]

Player contracts expire July 1. The PA would need to agree to some kind of extension. It would be bad or if they didn't but it would still have to happen

 

[talkinaway]

The same structure we know, with teams decided via points percentage after the season was halted on Wednesday: While, at this time, I’d love to know we’d see any kind of playoffs at all, this is a terrible idea. One player, whose team would barely miss under this plan, said he and his teammates would do anything possible to block it. Besides, it is uninspiring. We can do a lot better.

Well, it's a coin flip - it's either Vancouver or Columbus. Oddly enough, CBJ would fall to NYI due to NYI's 2 games in hand. Probably Vancouver, since they're tied with Nashville, and 1 point and 1 GP under Edmonton.

That said, I don't think just a 16-game tourney would necessarily be bad or unfair. There are a few edge cases, but you're always going to have those when you have a season where teams play an uneven number of games.

Frankly, I think we're in the denial phase. I would love the playoffs to happen. It would be a GREAT way to signal and celebrate the end of this period of isolation and the return to normalcy. But looking at what's happened in China, and what is happening in Italy, I think we're in for a total of about two months. That puts us in May. I think the best you can do from there is 8 teams, best-of-5 for two rounds, as then the SCF. Eight teams wouldn't leave much room for interpretation - the current top 2 in each division is pretty clear-cut. Unfortunately, it takes Toronto out of the picture, and having Toronto in the playoffs would be a HUGE moneymaker.

Of course, my "two months" guess for the period of isolation is just a hunch...and I'm wary of hunches, even my own. I expect to be surprised, in either direction.

 

[Fenway]

Player contracts expire July 1. The PA would need to agree to some kind of extension. It would be bad or if they didn't but it would still have to happen

That won't be an issue as the NHLPA knows they need revenue or otherwise escrow will be off the charts.

 

[Fenway]

Frankly, I think we're in the denial phase.

The most distressing thing I have seen on a mainstream media channel is there is now concern that some patients in China who had been classified as recovered are now exhibiting symptoms that are more severe than what they experienced previously.

Meanwhile, does anybody believe that Russia has only 59 cases????

Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS

 

[armydoc19]

If the regular season is done, which seems likely, that gives Pasta the Richard (with Ovie), and Rask/Halak the Jennings, right?
Who challenges Bergy for Selke? Couturier and Kopitar didn't exactly sizzle this year.

Rask is almost certainly a Vezina finalist, as well.

 

[finchster]

The most distressing thing I have seen on a mainstream media channel is there is now concern that some patients in China who had been classified as recovered are now exhibiting symptoms that are more severe than what they experienced previously.

Meanwhile, does anybody believe that Russia has only 59 cases????

Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS

Numbers are about to sky rocket. 14 of those cases were in the last few days.

Russia closed the border with China back in January, has been forcing thousands of people to quarantine. Perhaps there have been more cases, but the government here has been very proactive at least.

 

[kdog82]

Russia did it right. Once they knew about the virus they shut the borders. Number of cases have decreased and have had no deaths from what I have read.

 

[finchster]

Russia did it right. Once they knew about the virus they shut the borders. Number of cases have decreased and have had no deaths from what I have read.

I still wouldn't be shocked if they are lying about the amount of people infected, but closing the border back in January was the right choice.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

One year of something else is fine it will make us want the regular stuff more.

This.

All the complaints of how we can’t do this and we can’t do that.

Beggars can’t be choosers people. You’re going to have to make a sacrifice or two to see hockey again this season most likely.

 

[JOKER 192]

If the playoffs are not best of 7 game series then the cup should not be awarded.

I disagree. To me it's about precedent, it's been done in the past, why not now if need be? As long as the final is seven games, I'm OK with it. I just don't want to see any March Madness style tournament, or anything that allows teams that would otherwise not have made it, be given a chance to participate.

 

[JOKER 192]

There's a lot of good posts on this page. If any SCF is impossible, I don't think it's crazy to give the regular season champs the Cup. They've earned it and they do it in the EPL.

I mean the Bruins would be the winners but that would be a very hollow victory for me.

 

[member 96824]

I mean the Bruins would be the winners but that would be a very hollow victory for me.

Just drink the hollowness away in your “2020 Stanley cup champions” mug.

 

[JOKER 192]

Just drink the hollowness away in your “2020 Stanley cup champions” mug.

Don't get me wrong, I could live with it , I would just prefer actually playing for it in a PO.

The up side with that scenario would be the rage that Habs and Leafs fans in particular, would exhibit.

 

[DominicT]

That won't be an issue as the NHLPA knows they need revenue or otherwise escrow will be off the charts.

The CBA is virtually non existent at this point. There is nothing in it that deals with this situation. Everything has to be negotiated between the two parties this one time, and given the way the two sides are working on this together, they will come to an agreement.

College free agency, the draft and their free agency, unrestricted free agency, restricted free agency, buyout period, they will all get pushed back.

 

[DominicT]

And don't be surprised if the BOG accepts less then a 50-50 split of HRR for this season.

 

[weinsink]

I'm rooting for this 24 team concept. Would be very interesting to watch something so dramatically different than what we're used to.

Then you woke up

 

[DominicT]

The OHL IceDogs and 67's have it all figured out

 

[Prince Pasta]

Russia did it right. Once they knew about the virus they shut the borders. Number of cases have decreased and have had no deaths from what I have read.

very trustworthy government to rely on for facts

 

[DominicT]

 

[BMC]

very trustworthy government to rely on for facts

Them and the Chinese

 

[finchster]

very trustworthy government to rely on for facts

One of the reliable news sources about Russia is Medusa, it is an opposition news paper. They also publish in English.

Here is a good run down of why there seems to be so few cases here.
Why are there so few reported COVID-19 cases in Russia? — Meduza

 

[The don godfather]

What a mess.

 

[JOKER 192]

Well, it's a coin flip - it's either Vancouver or Columbus. Oddly enough, CBJ would fall to NYI due to NYI's 2 games in hand. Probably Vancouver, since they're tied with Nashville, and 1 point and 1 GP under Edmonton.

That said, I don't think just a 16-game tourney would necessarily be bad or unfair. There are a few edge cases, but you're always going to have those when you have a season where teams play an uneven number of games.

Frankly, I think we're in the denial phase. I would love the playoffs to happen. It would be a GREAT way to signal and celebrate the end of this period of isolation and the return to normalcy. But looking at what's happened in China, and what is happening in Italy, I think we're in for a total of about two months. That puts us in May. I think the best you can do from there is 8 teams, best-of-5 for two rounds, as then the SCF. Eight teams wouldn't leave much room for interpretation - the current top 2 in each division is pretty clear-cut. Unfortunately, it takes Toronto out of the picture, and having Toronto in the playoffs would be a HUGE moneymaker.

Of course, my "two months" guess for the period of isolation is just a hunch...and I'm wary of hunches, even my own. I expect to be surprised, in either direction.

If this only lasts two months , I for one would be very surprised. I do hope that's right though.