I love hockey. But an 82 game regular season seems a bit rough. 76 would probably be a nice number for viewership and help reduce injuries.
The chance of that happening... zero.
41 home games versus 38 in terms of revenue is a no go for most if not all owners. There is a bigger chance of the owners pushing for make up games for missing out on revenue for this year's missed games and fan less post season.
When things get finally sorted out the only change I could see permanently made is adding the preliminary round to the playoffs. I could see owners pushing hard for that because even 1 Extra post season game means increased revenue.
100% agreed under normal circumstances, this never would have happened, that's why I'm hoping they test drive it in these extreme circumstances that need some time contraction and find that it's worth it.
Increasing your odds significantly at having a couple home playoff games at the expense of three regular season home games may be enough incentive to make it happen. Nevermind the fact that it would keep teams in the fight much deeper into the year increasing the value of those February and March games that often are worthless to teams in the bottom ten.
If they try to proceed with 82 game schedules without all-star games while shortening the off season by 5 weeks would buy them about 40 days per season.
Following that model through, using the January 1st start date for next season, playoffs would start around Canada Day, with the cup awarded around Labour Day. 11 week off season instead of the usual sixteen week, 2021-22 starts late November and playoffs can't start until late May with the cup being awarded end of July.
This could possibly allow a mid-October start that could have them back on track by playoffs without an all-star break. But don't forget the players are still fighting to get into the Olympics for 2022.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out for sure.
Another thought with these scenarios is the requirement to host playoff games under normal circumstances through July and August for the next couple years. Do we really think the southern states can keep the ice surface safe to play on when there are actual crowds and exposure to the outdoor elements.
In the hub city format, the buildings will be basically locked down without many people in them and the league can send as many resources to these hubs to keep the ice safe. Imagine doing this in Arizona in July when the
average high is 41 degrees Celsius without those resources.