jennifer_rocket

The English Premier League (soccer) has recently started back up. I'm not sure what protocols they established or if many players are getting sick... but it's been running for a couple of weeks now. I'm not sure if their restart could be used as a template for other sports. I, too, would be surprised if hockey actually restarted. The United States is doing such a terrible job of dealing with COVID-19, I can't imagine sports (empty stadiums or no empty stadiums) would not do anything more than exacerbate the problem. The players will be thinking about the health of themselves and their families.

I'm actually hoping they lose in the play-in (or that it never happens) and we get that first overall pick. 12.5% chance at winning the draft lottery is a lot better than our chance of winning the Cup this year.

I apologize if this has already been answered. What happens if the season is cancelled and there is no play-in series? Does the NHL redraw the entire draft order? Or is what has already happened locked in no matter what?

I predict... Toronto and Las Vegas! But also, I wouldn't be surprised to see many players not vote in favor of a return. TSN had an article posted where Price mentions, right now, he wouldn't be able to vote yay or nay. He needs more information. Kind of sounds like they've been spending all this time finding cities but haven't taken care of some other important issues. Apparently the league isn't asking the players to quarantine upon returning to training either. Which seems weird.

Sometimes I assume that the player who hasn't been able to win a Cup has the most incentive to work hard to do so. I would be totally fine with MB reaching out to Hall's camp to gauge interest. Will he come here? I highly doubt it. Is it worth checking into? Definitely.

Maybe they'll do a better job without the hometown fans!

Nah. It'll just be garbage reffing all around (like usual). It'll vary game-to-game, period-to-period.

They'll probably pretend that making the "play-in round" counts as make the play-offs. Make things seem better than they are.

If one player testing positive for COVID-19 is going to delay the NHL's timeline for training camp, the play-in round, and the play-offs, they might as well quit now and cancel the season. There's no way, if this thing even gets started, that they're going to make it through without someone contracting COVID.

Oh man. Just cancel the season already. At this rate the 2019-2020 playoffs won't begin until September/October 2020.

It's possible all teams might just be stuck at the hockey rink and the hotel, no? They might say, "no contact with anyone outside of the team and staff until you're eliminated." I'm just speculating, but yeah... I s'pose that could be a thing.

Yeah, I mean, a lot of people (poor and rich) are going to be out a lot of money globally in almost every sector (sports and everything else). The NHL will survive in some form, even with all those lost revenues. Hockey will continue to exist at a professional level. However, the league has been obsessed with this idea of expansion for years now and maybe that's just not feasible. And maybe this is the moment they might realize it. Maybe Arizona doesn't need a team. Maybe player salaries can't keep rising to the degree that they've gone up in the past 10 years.

I feel like I also heard today that there would need to be hotel suites available that are up to a certain standard near to the arena chosen.

Yep. That's exactly what it feels like. I understand there are arguments out there about "stimulating the economy" but I don't really see the huge societal economic benefits of playing hockey games in mostly empty stadiums. I mean, it's not like bar owners/restaurants will be allowed to pack fans in to watch. TV networks will reap some of the rewards, as will the NHL. But it's not like this is going to help out small business owners or something. Yes, it will provide entertainment to many sports fans, but... I mean, I can live without hockey for now. I'm sure many people can.

Yeah, the whole thing just feels opportunistic. Bettman knows there are a ton of people out there desperate to watch any sport. He probably sees this as a good opportunity to "grow the game." I've been on the side of 'cancel the season' since the beginning and I still think that's what should happen.