Changing up: Taking an early look at the one-of-a-kind 2021 NHL season - The Boston Globe
From tarp-covered seats to taxi squads, ads in weird spaces, and old faces in new places, this 56-game sprint to July will look unlike any previous NHL season. Even the last one.
Hopefully, it will be a one-off, and things are back to normal, or something like it, when the Seattle Kraken enter the league in 2021-22.
With camps opening Thursday for the seven non-playoff teams, and next Sunday for the rest of the league, let’s set the table. How will the NHL look different this season?
Let us count the ways:
▪ Plenty of ink has been spilled over realignment, which will mean intradivisional play through the first two rounds of the playoffs. It also means the Bruins will go an entire regular season without seeing the Maple Leafs, Lightning, Canadiens, Panthers, Senators, or Red Wings.
Stinks for David Pastrnak, who has torched all of those teams. Against the Habs, he has 14 goals in 19 career games (Montreal center Phillip Danault was on the ice for six of Pastrnak’s 48 goals last season). The teams on which Pastrnak has scored the most: Tampa Bay (14-10—24 in 24 games), Ottawa (9-15—24 in 18 games), Toronto (13-10—23 in 18 games), the New York Rangers (8-14—22 in 17 games), and Montreal (14-8—22 in 19 games).
The Rangers will see No. 88, but everyone else may not.
▪ A long-awaited change in the offside rule will eliminate some of the most frustrating disallowed goals. The old offside rule, simplified: a player’s skate had to be touching the blue line when the puck entered the zone. Now, the skate can remain in the air, as long as it is hovering above the stripe (similar to an NFL player “breaking the plane” of the end zone).
▪ By now, many of us are familiar with the airy, artificial feel that comes from watching a game broadcast from an empty arena. We’ll get that in some rinks in 2021, but not in others. As of Wednesday, the only franchises that expect to welcome fans on opening night are Arizona, Dallas, Florida, and Tampa Bay. Everyone else, including Boston, hopes to bring them in at some point, but may start with tarps over the seats, to create a made-for-TV look. That also means …
▪ They can sell ads on the tarps. Making up for lost ticket revenue is a desperation play for league owners, who have bled millions in revenue. Expect to see virtual ads projected onto arena signage, on the glass behind the nets, and even on the ice.
▪ Helmet stickers, replacing team logos, could help make up the dollar deficit. Teams began rolling out their new designs this past week. Instead of “Capitals” on the side of a navy helmet, you’ll see “Capital One,” as a way of making it up to their arena sponsor. The Devils (“Prudential”) and Predators (“Bridgestone”) followed suit. Teams can split up their partnerships, too; the Panthers will put a Ford logo on their game lids, and uh, pay tribute, to a local hospital (Baptist Health) with their practice buckets.............
From tarp-covered seats to taxi squads, ads in weird spaces, and old faces in new places, this 56-game sprint to July will look unlike any previous NHL season. Even the last one.
Hopefully, it will be a one-off, and things are back to normal, or something like it, when the Seattle Kraken enter the league in 2021-22.
With camps opening Thursday for the seven non-playoff teams, and next Sunday for the rest of the league, let’s set the table. How will the NHL look different this season?
Let us count the ways:
▪ Plenty of ink has been spilled over realignment, which will mean intradivisional play through the first two rounds of the playoffs. It also means the Bruins will go an entire regular season without seeing the Maple Leafs, Lightning, Canadiens, Panthers, Senators, or Red Wings.
Stinks for David Pastrnak, who has torched all of those teams. Against the Habs, he has 14 goals in 19 career games (Montreal center Phillip Danault was on the ice for six of Pastrnak’s 48 goals last season). The teams on which Pastrnak has scored the most: Tampa Bay (14-10—24 in 24 games), Ottawa (9-15—24 in 18 games), Toronto (13-10—23 in 18 games), the New York Rangers (8-14—22 in 17 games), and Montreal (14-8—22 in 19 games).
The Rangers will see No. 88, but everyone else may not.
▪ A long-awaited change in the offside rule will eliminate some of the most frustrating disallowed goals. The old offside rule, simplified: a player’s skate had to be touching the blue line when the puck entered the zone. Now, the skate can remain in the air, as long as it is hovering above the stripe (similar to an NFL player “breaking the plane” of the end zone).
▪ By now, many of us are familiar with the airy, artificial feel that comes from watching a game broadcast from an empty arena. We’ll get that in some rinks in 2021, but not in others. As of Wednesday, the only franchises that expect to welcome fans on opening night are Arizona, Dallas, Florida, and Tampa Bay. Everyone else, including Boston, hopes to bring them in at some point, but may start with tarps over the seats, to create a made-for-TV look. That also means …
▪ They can sell ads on the tarps. Making up for lost ticket revenue is a desperation play for league owners, who have bled millions in revenue. Expect to see virtual ads projected onto arena signage, on the glass behind the nets, and even on the ice.
▪ Helmet stickers, replacing team logos, could help make up the dollar deficit. Teams began rolling out their new designs this past week. Instead of “Capitals” on the side of a navy helmet, you’ll see “Capital One,” as a way of making it up to their arena sponsor. The Devils (“Prudential”) and Predators (“Bridgestone”) followed suit. Teams can split up their partnerships, too; the Panthers will put a Ford logo on their game lids, and uh, pay tribute, to a local hospital (Baptist Health) with their practice buckets.............
