Speculation: Is the North League a possibility again ?

[HamiltonNHL]

Anyone know if this is in play ?

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[ACC1224]

Doubt it

 

[93LEAFS]

NHL owners league-wide are horrified at the idea of Leafs and Canadiens having no gate revenue and what it would mean for the cap and revenue sharing.

 

[Jojalu]

As of now the next possible Leafs home game is Jan 26 against the Ducks.

Unless there is a massive shift in how people think, there is almost zero chance that game gets played.

I don't see how they are going to constantly change the schedule. Either all of March and April will be home games for Canadian teams or eventually they will have to let them play in front of zero fans which is brutal for the home team.

 

[93LEAFS]

As of now the next possible Leafs home game is Jan 26 against the Ducks.

Unless there is a massive shift in how people think, there is almost zero chance that game gets played.

I don't see how they are going to constantly change the schedule. Either all of March and April will be home games for Canadian teams or eventually they will have to let them play in front of zero fans which is brutal for the home team.

I'd rather just play them with no fans now. I think Bell and Rogers are relatively fine with it. It's probably more not to throw Ottawa and the cheap Canadian teams under the bus. Yes, Rogers and Bell will miss the revenue, but they care more about having TV, and playoffs. Leafs and Canadians can afford to play the long game, not sure about the other 5, and the rest of the league loves their revenue sharing from Toronto and MTL. Plus, American teams are worried about getting players trapped here.

 

[Gary Nylund]

As of now the next possible Leafs home game is Jan 26 against the Ducks.

Unless there is a massive shift in how people think, there is almost zero chance that game gets played.

I don't see how they are going to constantly change the schedule. Either all of March and April will be home games for Canadian teams or eventually they will have to let them play in front of zero fans which is brutal for the home team.

That seems too far off in the future to make such a prediction, unless I'm missing something.

 

[Torontonian]

I think it's far to complex in the middle of the season to completely redo every single division and change the schedule for every single team. I also don't think the US will ever "lockdown" or close anything down like Ontario and Canada has done. Even if Toronto and MTL are bringing in no revenue for now, at least some will be brought in when they travel to the states to play.

This "lockdown" is suppose to only be in effect for the next three weeks, now whether or not you believe Ford and co is another story.

 

[Stephen]

I'd rather just play them with no fans now. I think Bell and Rogers are relatively fine with it. It's probably more not to throw Ottawa and the cheap Canadian teams under the bus. Yes, Rogers and Bell will miss the revenue, but they care more about having TV, and playoffs. Leafs and Canadians can afford to play the long game, not sure about the other 5, and the rest of the league loves their revenue sharing from Toronto and MTL. Plus, American teams are worried about getting players trapped here.

I’ve heard revenues for home games are about $3 million per game for MLSE. I’m sure they would not prefer to play in front of zero fans and would gladly kick it down the road for when they can be more open and stack more home games down the stretch.

 

[93LEAFS]

I’ve heard revenues for home games are about $3 million per game for MLSE. I’m sure they would not prefer to play in front of zero fans and would gladly kick it down the road for when they can be more open and stack more home games down the stretch.

I believe it was reported Leafs and Habs while annoyed were willing to go on. It was an absolute no go for teams like the Sens who while having no gate revenue have nowhere near the Leafs or MTL's tv revenue.

 

[Mickey Marner]

God I hope not. I'm in favour of a shortened season though. The East playoff teams are basically set at this point, another month or so should sort out the west.

 

[93LEAFS]

I think it's far to complex in the middle of the season to completely redo every single division and change the schedule for every single team. I also don't think the US will ever "lockdown" or close anything down like Ontario and Canada has done. Even if Toronto and MTL are bringing in no revenue for now, at least some will be brought in when they travel to the states to play.

This "lockdown" is suppose to only be in effect for the next three weeks, now whether or not you believe Ford and co is another story.

Even if the lockdown ends in 3 weeks, they aren't going right back to letting 10,000 people congregate in the same place. There will still be pretty sizable restrictions on places with public gathering, that have also shown they have trouble enforcing distancing and mask wearing.

 

[Torontonian]

Even if the lockdown ends in 3 weeks, they aren't going right back to letting 10,000 people congregate in the same place. There will still be pretty sizable restrictions on places with public gathering, that have also shown they have trouble enforcing distancing and mask wearing.

That's true, the Leaf's as of right now could have 1000 fans in the building but MLSE chose it's simply not worth to staff people for it. I could see a 5000 fan limit in a couple weeks if it ends, 1/4th the capacity, should be do able in a big building like that.

 

[93LEAFS]

That's true, the Leaf's as of right now could have 1000 fans in the building but MLSE chose it's simply not worth to staff people for it. I could see a 5000 fan limit in a couple weeks if it ends, 1/4th the capacity, should be do able in a big building like that.

I don't believe under current restrictions we could even have 1000. But, they chose no fans over that a week ago.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

So we have to get by Calgary Edmonton and Winnipeg instead of Tampa Bay Florida and Boston? Sign me up.

 

[Jojalu]

That seems too far off in the future to make such a prediction, unless I'm missing something.

They postponed the Jan 17 game against the Devils, so the next scheduled home game is the 26th.

Apparantly the Leafs have already cancelled all tickets for all games in Jan.

 

[Gary Nylund]

They postponed the Jan 17 game against the Devils, so the next scheduled home game is the 26th.

Apparantly the Leafs have already cancelled all tickets for all games in Jan.

They postponed a game on Jan 17? Wow OK then, it seems that I'm even more clueless about this situation than I could have imagined. What's the reason for postponing that one?

 

[Jojalu]

They postponed a game on Jan 17? Wow OK then, it seems that I'm even more clueless about this situation than I could have imagined. What's the reason for postponing that one?

Attendance issue.

 

[Jojalu]

They postponed a game on Jan 17? Wow OK then, it seems that I'm even more clueless about this situation than I could have imagined. What's the reason for postponing that one?

Following the province’s announcement which further limits venue capacities, Scotiabank Arena will transition to operating temporarily without any fans as we continue to work together in the fight against COVID-19.

All tickets for the following games have been cancelled:

• Wednesday, January 5th vs. Edmonton
• Monday, January 17th vs. New Jersey
• Saturday, January 22nd vs. NY Islanders
• Wednesday, January 26th vs. Anaheim

For Members and Suiteholders your money will remain on account as credit for future use. Should any of these games be postponed, credit will not be issued as fan attendance remains a possibility. All other ticket purchasers will receive a refund in 30 days. Please continue to follow @MapleLeafs for capacity updates as they become available.

We look forward to hosting fans again as soon as the province deems it safe to do so.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Attendance issue.

Huh. I had no idea they were doing that, this situation is more nuanced than I thought. And once again, I feel like there's this asterix next to the season that's starting to grow. FML.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Following the province’s announcement which further limits venue capacities, Scotiabank Arena will transition to operating temporarily without any fans as we continue to work together in the fight against COVID-19.

All tickets for the following games have been cancelled:

• Wednesday, January 5th vs. Edmonton
• Monday, January 17th vs. New Jersey
• Saturday, January 22nd vs. NY Islanders
• Wednesday, January 26th vs. Anaheim

For Members and Suiteholders your money will remain on account as credit for future use. Should any of these games be postponed, credit will not be issued as fan attendance remains a possibility. All other ticket purchasers will receive a refund in 30 days. Please continue to follow @MapleLeafs for capacity updates as they become available.

We look forward to hosting fans again as soon as the province deems it safe to do so.

Wait, wait. The way I read this, these games haven't ben postponed, they will likely be played, there just won't be any fans in attendance.

 

[Jojalu]

Wait, wait. The way I read this, these games haven't ben postponed, they will likely be played, there just won't be any fans in attendance.

The 17th has been postponed for sure. The other 2 they are waiting

 

[Jojalu]

Wait, wait. The way I read this, these games haven't ben postponed, they will likely be played, there just won't be any fans in attendance.

The NHL has postponed three additional games due to Canadian attendance restrictions, the league announced Wednesday.
The games are:
• New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 15
• Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 17
• Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18

 

[Jojalu]

Huh. I had no idea they were doing that, this situation is more nuanced than I thought. And once again, I feel like there's this asterix next to the season that's starting to grow. FML.

I tend to agree with you if all the Canadian teams have to spend the next month to 6 weeks on the road. We saw how tough it was for the Raptors and Jays in other sports and the Islanders( not for Covid reasons) this year.

It certainly creates an unbalnaced schedule

 

[wingman75]

The only reason it existed last year was becuase of the travel restrictions at the boarder. Those do not exist currently, and it does not appear any are on the way. The current restrictions in Canada are in place only to limit the impact on the health care system. So, while they do impact the bums in the seats, they do not restrict cross-border travel.

 

[Buds17]

It becomes more problematic with Seattle now in the league as 25 American teams aren't as easily divisible to make sense with a Canadian division featuring seven teams. Still don't think it would need to happen again regardless of the aforementioned.