Sportsnet Marchand says first few games upon return will be ‘really, really ugly’

[CharasLazyWrister]

I agree that we need to complete this year and award a Stanley Cup no matter what. I just feel with every passing day of no improvement that Bettman's going to be a dink and just cancel it outright to start afresh in September/October.

Out of all situations to blame on Gary Bettman.

Everyone is doing their best all things considered. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. There is no need to call people out right now because it doesn’t go the way you want. Especially with a luxury such as sports.

 

[Salem13]

In the end I bet this just screws us out of new ice again.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

In the end I bet this just screws us out of new ice again.

Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure I read confirmation of this.

The Jacobs family I’m sure is ecstatic to find another excuse.

 

[easton117]

At this point I think I’d rather see them finish up this year/playoffs starting around September. At least give the players some kind of ramp up training period on the ice and some games played before the playoffs.

Have the finals end sometime late November. Give them December off and play a half season/playoffs January through June.

edit sorry didn’t notice another post stating the same. Great minds!

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

At this point I think I’d rather see them finish up this year/playoffs starting around September. At least give the players some kind of ramp up training period on the ice and some games played before the playoffs.

Have the finals end sometime late November. Give them December off and play a half season/playoffs January through June.

edit sorry didn’t notice another post stating the same. Great minds!

This is what I’ve been thinking about.

The big problem I could ultimately see though is that non-playoff teams’ owners would be extremely resistant to sacrificing revenue from a full season next year for the sake of playing out the prior season’s postseason.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

duplicate

 

[DarrenBanks56]

At this point I think I’d rather see them finish up this year/playoffs starting around September. At least give the players some kind of ramp up training period on the ice and some games played before the playoffs.

Have the finals end sometime late November. Give them December off and play a half season/playoffs January through June.

edit sorry didn’t notice another post stating the same. Great minds!

i agree. thats a good idea. but man. what a layoff.
i still think they resume in mid to late june with no fans

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure I read confirmation of this.

The Jacobs family I’m sure is ecstatic to find another excuse.

For once I'll give the Jacobs family a pass if that does turn out to be the case - their businesses will have lost a stack of money by the time this is all over, and big infrastructure spends will understandably not be high on their agenda.

Now of course the ice plant should have been replaced already well before this pandemic fell upon us, but that's another matter...

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Jez me thinks somebody doesn't like Marchand?
He was just giving his thoughts on the likely affects this lockdown will have on all players. Nothing at all to do with making excuses.

Anywho, it would be bizarre to see the playoffs played in empty arenas. I wonder how significant the intensity drop off would be without the energy of a crowd and would it tarnish the cup somewhat for whomever won it, if indeed it was to be won that way?

Pro-athletes are deeply competitive beasts. In the one week of Aussie Rules football we had in empty arenas before it got suspended, the first 10 mins of each game were a bit weird for all involved, but the contests quickly got more intense as the competitive juices kicked in and by about a third of the way in the games were looking pretty normal. I wouldn't say they were going at 100%, but at least 90% compared to a game with fans.

Finals are admittedly a different matter. I suspect the gap between a regular playoffs intensity and what happens in an empty arena might be slightly greater. But Stanley Cups and the like are so incredibly hard to win and many good players never even get close to one. I think the competition will get pretty heated and physical quite quickly as players get back into form and it begins to really dawn on them what's at stake. Some teams will respond to the unusual circumstances better than others but thems the breaks and the same can be said to some degree of every playoff series.

So as long as the format that the playoffs are ultimately played in, if ever, is deemed fair for all involved, then I think the eventual winner will be accepted as legitimate and deserving. Firstly because it's going to take a special group to be able to thrive in such strange, compromizing circumstances, and secondly because I'm sure the games will turn out to be very competitive with everyone giving their all in search of the ultimate prize. It's going to be weird and not ideal for everyone, fans and players both, but we'll get a worthy victor.

We'll also get used to it, since sports are almost certainly going to be taking place in empty arenas all over the world for some time before crowds are allowed back in.

 

[Deleted]

Pro-athletes are deeply competitive beasts. In the one week of Aussie Rules football we had in empty arenas before it got suspended, the first 10 mins of each game were a bit weird for all involved, but the contests quickly got more intense as the competitive juices kicked in and by about a third of the way in the games were looking pretty normal. I wouldn't say they were going at 100%, but at least 90% compared to a game with fans.

Finals are admittedly a different matter. I suspect the gap between a regular playoffs intensity and what happens in an empty arena might be slightly greater. But Stanley Cups and the like are so incredibly hard to win and many good players never even get close to one. I think the competition will get pretty heated and physical quite quickly as players get back into form and it begins to really dawn on them what's at stake. Some teams will respond to the unusual circumstances better than others but thems the breaks and the same can be said to some degree of every playoff series.

So as long as the format that the playoffs are ultimately played in, if ever, is deemed fair for all involved, then I think the eventual winner will be accepted as legitimate and deserving. Firstly because it's going to take a special group to be able to thrive in such strange, compromizing circumstances, and secondly because I'm sure the games will turn out to be very competitive with everyone giving their all in search of the ultimate prize. It's going to be weird and not ideal for everyone, fans and players both, but we'll get a worthy victor.

We'll also get used to it, since sports are almost certainly going to be taking place in empty arenas all over the world for some time before crowds are allowed back in.

The new normal I guess. I heard Bill Simmons on his podcast recently talking about how the WWE was still airing "wrestling" events and that he tried watching one but without the crowd it was very difficult. I was flicking through stations myself last weekend and sure enough there it was, after about 5 minutes I had to turn it off, I was never a WWE guy anyway but I was prepared to give anything a shot at this stage but the eeriness was just bizarre.

You're right though, people will be so starved of sports that crowds or no crowds the viewership will be there.

Darts have started playing games now called the "At Home Series" were each player has a camera set up on their own dart board at home and they play eachother remotely. The first round was last night and it went down pretty well. It's a good idea but probably the only sport that could do something like that.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

The new normal I guess. I heard Bill Simmons on his podcast recently talking about how the WWE was still airing "wrestling" events and that he tried watching one but without the crowd it was very difficult. I was flicking through stations myself last weekend and sure enough there it was, after about 5 minutes I had to turn it off, I was never a WWE guy anyway but I was prepared to give anything a shot at this stage but the eeriness was just bizarre.

You're right though, people will be so starved of sports that crowds or no crowds the viewership will be there.

Darts have started playing games now called the "At Home Series" were each player has a camera set up on their own dart board at home and they play eachother remotely. The first round was last night and it went down pretty well. It's a good idea but probably the only sport that could do something like that.

Good on darts for being creative! That's a good concept.

I saw a little footage from the Wrestlemania a couple of weeks ago and yeah it was really weird. It's like performing live theatre with no audience, just doesn't seem right. And while I'm sure it makes some people happy, it's really odd that it's able to be going on at all at the moment. But Vince McMahon's had a rather close relationship with Trump for years, so I can see how they might have been able to obtain approval...

 

[CDJ]

Good on darts for being creative! That's a good concept.

I saw a little footage from the Wrestlemania a couple of weeks ago and yeah it was really weird. It's like performing live theatre with no audience, just doesn't seem right. And while I'm sure it makes some people happy, it's really odd that it's able to be going on at all at the moment. But Vince McMahon's had a rather close relationship with Trump for years, so I can see how they might have been able to obtain approval...

linda mcmahons super pac donated $18.5 mill to the fund to get trump re-elected in Florida and that same day the WWE was “remarkably” named as an essential business


Something something something drain the swamp something something something

 

[Aussie Bruin]

inline skating works wonders

Inline would help to a point, and Chucky McAvoy for one has been doing that, but it's still not the same, plus I'd imagine most players would be limited in how much they can do it at present. But it's really no substitute for skating hard and in the heat of competition, when you need to be much more agile and able to skate constantly in response to another moving object while making frequent contact with other bodies. There's really no way of replicating that and it's inevitably going to take awhile for everybody to get their legs fully back.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

linda mcmahons super pac donated $18.5 mill to the fund to get trump re-elected in Florida and that same day the WWE was “remarkably” named as an essential business


Something something something drain the swamp something something something

Well there you go. Yeah that would do it! Not surprising in the least.

 

[easton117]

This is what I’ve been thinking about.

The big problem I could ultimately see though is that non-playoff teams’ owners would be extremely resistant to sacrificing revenue from a full season next year for the sake of playing out the prior season’s postseason.

Ya it’d be a tough sell for the non playoff teams.

I’d do it just to make Doughty play the last 14 or so for no reason just to hear him complain lol

 

[SPB2776]

About the only thing inline skating replicates for ice skating is balance. Strides are different. Turns are different. Jones was mocking Krug the other night after Tory said that the lack of skating would be a problem, and all I could do was shake my head because it will be an issue and Jones mocking it just further proves what little he knows about sports that don't involve a hoop.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

About the only thing inline skating replicates for ice skating is balance. Strides are different. Turns are different. Jones was mocking Krug the other night after Tory said that the lack of skating would be a problem, and all I could do was shake my head because it will be an issue and Jones mocking it just further proves what little he knows about sports that don't involve a hoop.

i find them very similar. i play in a mens roller and ice league. only thing i find different is hard stops. and even that is similar . ive been playing inline for 20 years now and my stopping is pretty clise to how i stop on ice. on sport court that is. asphalt is different obviously

 

[DaStinger]

I'm under the opinion that this years playoffs are lost. Make preparations so you have a plan in place for the 2021 season if things are still like this.

 

[Gordoff]

About the only thing inline skating replicates for ice skating is balance. Strides are different. Turns are different. Jones was mocking Krug the other night after Tory said that the lack of skating would be a problem, and all I could do was shake my head because it will be an issue and Jones mocking it just further proves what little he knows about sports that don't involve a hoop.

Adam Jones? F**K HIM!

 

[Aeroforce]

The optimist in me recalls that the B's seemingly picked up where they left of last October, after a short offseason. But I also realize they were starting with a clean slate, like everyone else. Attempting to resume a mostly-played season is different, especially mentally.

I'm not sure either way, but I know some here think Rask wasn't quite as sharp in the Final, which they attribute to the layoff after sweeping Carolina.

Marchand probably has vivid memories of that controversial exhibition scrimmage before the Final, in which he sustained an injury.