Canuck Schedule 2020 - 2021 Discussion

[Goal:thecup]

Canucks Schedule 2020 - 2021

 

According to the following article, the Canucks should be prepping for their pre-camp quarantine period before training camp.

 

Quick summary of the schedule for the remainder of 2020:

• Working backwards from the proposed January 1, 2021 regular season start date, training camp should open about December 15th.
• There is talk that 2020 non-playoff teams may get permission to open camp early, maybe the 8th of December, but there may not be time.
• Quarantine would have to start about December 1st to get the 2 weeks required in some jurisdictions (like ours).

 

 

With only a week left in November, it is pretty quiet out there; this is the latest article I could find:

 

Per The Washington Post, Nov 19/20:

 

The NHL, facing more questions than answers, is still targeting a January start.

By 
Samantha Pell
November 19, 2020 at 4:33 a.m. PST

 

With December approaching, the clock is ticking for the NHL to formulate a plan for its 2020-21 season. In the middle of this unconventional offseason, there are still a lot more questions than answers for how, when and where the league plans to play.

With the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association in talks, here is what’s under consideration and the timetable for some of these decisions.

 

When will the season start?
The NHL hopes to open next season as early as Jan. 1. The league already pushed back its start date from Dec. 1 and now appears intent on a January start. The American Hockey League, the top minor league, announced in October that it is targeting Feb. 5 for its start date. If the NHL does start in early January, it is expected that AHL players would be available for teams to use during that gap period.

The NHL already postponed the 2021 Winter Classic in Minneapolis and the 2021 All-Star Game in South Florida. Both will be pushed to 2022, according to the league.

 

When will training camp open?
When mandatory training camps will open is unclear. Those camps are expected to last two weeks, but teams that did not take part in the expanded 2020 postseason will get an extra week. If the NHL can hit its Jan. 1 start date, teams would start camp in mid-December.

“Realistically, if we’re going to start in the first part of January, mandatory training camps are going to have to start in the middle part of December,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on the NHL’s @TheRink podcast Nov. 13. “In some of our markets there continue to be quarantine requirements associated with players coming into town, so you factor those in and you back it up from there. I would ultimately concur with the conclusion that time is getting short.”

 

How many games will the season be?
The NHL and NHLPA remain in talks about that. The NHL has not announced plans to shorten the season, but that seems likely.

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that a return-to-play committee, made up of 16 players, convened several times in the past week.

LeBrun also reported that most conversations between the league and the players’ union have focused on trying to play more than 60 games. Previous reports suggested the NHL will not consider anything less than 48 games. The NHL used a 48-game schedule during the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, as well as in 1994-95.

“We know there is some urgency here. There is some urgency for making decisions, and while we want to drop the puck on January 1, we also recognize that we’re not going to rush into a bad decision just to make it,” Daly said on the podcast. "Whether that January 1 can be a little later, we certainly have flexibility to move it later.”

 

Where will teams play? Will there be realignment?
Daly acknowledged on the podcast that the league could open the season using one schedule model and then transition to another later. A couple of those options include having all teams start the season in hubs instead of their home arenas. In this scenario, the hubs would be in cities that are not located in high-risk environments, and teams would play a baseball-like schedule. After the NHL staged the 2020 playoffs in bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, the league made it clear it would not put players in a hub situation for an entire season.

“You’d set up some dedicated space and restaurants for the players without the secure perimeters that we had in the bubble cities,” Daly said on the podcast. “That would be the benefit of hub cities. You would be in a situation where teams would travel in, play a bunch of games over a two-week time period and then be able to go home and spend time with their families and their own local practice facilities for a week and cycle through a season that way.”

The other option would be for teams to host games in their home arenas like normal. Teams also might transition to this model during the season. Daly indicated some teams prefer to go that route. However, not all teams may be able to play in their cities — with or without fans — because of coronavirus restrictions.

The closure of the Canada-U.S. border remains a concern. During a virtual panel discussion this month, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league might temporarily realign its divisions to accommodate travel restrictions.

“It may be that we’re better off, particularly if we’re playing a reduced schedule, which we’re contemplating, keeping it geographically centric, more divisional based, and realigning, again on a temporary basis, to deal with the travel issues,” Bettman said.

 

Fans or no fans?
The NHL did not allow any fans to attend the 2020 postseason, and it is unclear whether fans will be allowed in the stands to start 2020-21. With local restrictions tightening and coronavirus cases surging, it would seem unlikely that fans could return anytime soon, but that could change during the season.

Health and safety restrictions will play a key factor in that decision. In the D.C. market, Washington Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard was asked Tuesday about getting fans back into Capital One Arena — the same venue used by the Capitals. He told reporters that it depended on NBA and local guidelines. In D.C., gatherings of more than 50 people still aren’t allowed.

What are players doing now?
Many players are training on their own or in small groups in their hometowns or have returned to their teams’ practice facilities to participate in optional skates. Once the dates for training camp are announced, more players should trickle into their teams’ cities.

On the podcast, Daly said there has been discussion of allowing optional conditioning camps before training camp.

 

[CaptKirk888]

There is a lot of major challenges to tackle and potentially more to come. Everything is so speculative right now, but we or media will not know until the NHL/NHLPA have a concrete plan/decision In place. All we can do is wait (and speculate).

[Boudrias]

Look at the size of NFL teams and all their support staff. It is working for them. There were 15 -16 thousand at the Steelers game yesterday. The stadium probably holds

100,000. Major loss of revenue for the teams and loss of income for the players. Start Jan.1st! The vaccines will probably be available to them by February.  

[48MPHSlapShot]

4 hours ago, Goal:thecup said:

 

Per The Washington Post, Nov 19/20:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tried to read this article from the source but it was a paywall.

[-DLC-]

Was listening to a discussion on this today....how some teams lose less NOT playing than they would if they were playing.  The costs to bubble are a huge factor and how to do this safely likely involves a lot of planning.  And with the current spikes, it's likely all on hold until things are a bit more contained.

 

It's different than the NBA and NFL that have huge broadcast revenue....hockey still needs fans in the stands.  

 

I don't think it'll be January 1....I'm hoping February 1 though.

[Russ]

Be interesting to see if they have to do the 2 week quarantine.  When they did return to play in the summer they were able to get around it.  Now the guys had to do home - rink and thats it so I could realistically see them opening up and practicing mid December if they get that again. 

[DonaldBrashear]

As a season ticket holder I am in no rush to see them allow fans back into the stadiums. I have zero interest in attending ANY public sporting event until vaccines are wide spread. Not because I am afraid of coronavirus (I already got it and recovered) but because I don't want to attend a hockey game with any restrictions, e.g. social distancing or masks. Next time I go to a hockey game will be when it is a full arena with 19k fans and not a single person wearing a mask. If that is not until 2022 or 2023 then so be it.

[NorthWestNuck]

One thing positive is that players in Europe have started to be recalled to come back to North America, presumably to begin quarantining. That could be taken as a good sign that perhaps something is starting to happen?

[Goal:thecup]

Some updates and perhaps the NHL is digging in its heels for that Jan 1 start date and less money to players:

 

From Gameonhockey.ca:

 

by Carter BrooksNovember 22, 2020

The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association have continued dialogue the past week in going over many facets of the proposed return-to-play scenarios. Although much of the talk surrounds players, agents and NHL representatives squabbling for money, some direction has begun taking place as to the layout of the coming 2020-21 season.

 
With the NHL’s board of governors discussing potential return-to-play plans for the coming year, many options – schedule-wise – have been suggested. However, one proposal has garnered the most attention: that of a 60-game regular season, with a full four-round Stanley Cup Playoffs, beginning roughly around January 1, and ending approximately July 15.

These dates will have some wiggle room, but must remain in place as this proposed start date is now only 40 days out, with the July 15 conclusion holding significant importance, as the 2020-turned-2021 Summer Olympic Games are now scheduled to run Friday, July 23 through Sunday, August 8. Both NBC and CBC will have full coverage of these events – meaning hockey must be wrapped up prior to that. Should this proposal be accepted, training camps will begin by the second week of December, while players have already begun returning to their NHL host cities.

 

Already eliminating various fixtures from the average NHL schedule, including the All-Star Weekend, the Winter Classic, the Heritage Classic, Stadium Series matchups and various scheduled break weeks throughout the season, the NHL continues to look for ways to compact a full season into the shortest possible stretch of time, allowing for injury and potential game rescheduling – due to possible COVID-19 conflicts.

 

One way that this will be possible is the elimination of 22 games per team, bringing the abbreviated season total to 60 games. Originally adamantly sticking with the thought of a typical 82-game season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has since changed course. Just last week, the long-time NHL exec mentioned the ‘possibility’ of a shortened season, while NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly outright stated that the league has been in discussion with its players on a variety of issues, including playing a 48-72 game season in 2020-21.

While the main issue with playing/not playing is the rapid transmission of COVID-19, other factors (primarily money, salary, sponsorships and team/league revenue) is the driving force behind the league and players attempting to get the season back on the rails. Helping lead that discussion is a pair of Winnipeg Jets forwards and roommates.

Players involved on the newly-formed Return to Play committee include: David Backes, Darren Helm, David Savard, Justin Faulk, Lars Eller, Sam Gagner, Justin Abdelkader, Ian Cole, Zach Hyman, Ron Hainsey, Claude Giroux, Ryan Dzingel, Alex Biega and Chris Kreider, as well as Jets Andrew Copp and Mark Scheifele. Interestingly, zero goaltenders are a part of this committee.

 

After agreeing to this deal as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the summer that will see players earn just 72 percent of their set salaries for the 2020-21 season, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks is reporting that the NHL is looking to bring that number down another 13 percentage points to 59 percent. The deal was originally set to be in effect whether 82 games were played or if the season did not even occur. However, the NHL is apparently going back on its word. With the main concern stemming from the lack of individual team revenue due to the expected minimal fan attendance, owners have balked at the idea of continuing to pay players while hosting games in empty arenas.

 

 
The focus for the Return to Play committee continues to be a January 1, 2021 starting date, with a two-thirds length schedule. It appears as though teams will most likely be playing out of their own arenas in baseball-styled series with their divisional opponents. The idea of hosting an all-Canadian division remains at the forefront of the conversation. Last Wednesday, it was announced that the ground traffic border closure between Canada and the United States would remain in place until at least December 21, 2020. With that said, players residing in other cities, countries and continents have begun flocking back to their North American post.

 

The proposed divisional realignments for 2020-21 appear to be three eight-team, US-based divisions, with the seven Canadian teams sticking north of the border and playing games solely in Canada, out of their own arenas. At this point, the four divisions for the 2020-21 season are as follows:

 

Canadian Division:

Winnipeg
Toronto
Montreal
Ottawa
Edmonton
Calgary
Vancouver
 

US Division I

Boston
Buffalo
Carolina
New Jersey
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
Washington
Philadelphia
 

US Division II

Chicago
Columbus
Detroit
Florida
Nashville
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
Tampa Bay
 

US Division III

************************************* (Sorry, I could not seem to get the balance of the article, but, if inclined, a reader could deduce the remaining teams in Division III.)

 

The NHLPA is probably going to take another poop-pounding, as they still do not have very much power since caving during the lockout(s).

 

This is the hold-up imo; get the money straight and DROP THE PUCK!!

[Dumb Nuck]

COVID is on an exponential curve just wait and see how bad it’s going to be come the New Year, not to mention the money issues now, I honestly cant see a 20/21 season happening.

[coolboarder]

If they couldn't get it opened by February, 1st, I could see the format would be changed considerably and hold the playoffs involving all 31 teams with shorten round robin format and pay the prize money to recoup the TV deal.     This is my guess and Round Robin would be just three weeks with all teams playing against each other twice (12-14 games) and top 4 goes straight to the playoffs.  Play-in qualifier is out of question as Bettman has said that he is not a fan of that format and would rather to keep 16 teams in the playoffs. That is if this has gone beyond February 1 and they wants to reward the Stanley Cup with proper training camp and could start by March if the league needs revenue and prorated salary with fans being allowed in by spring.  So I could see them cancelling the season over unable to pay for players salaries as they have brought it up to the NHLPA the financial issue that the league is having right now due to Covid-19

 

I do not think that the playoffs would be bubble as teams would rather to keep their family aspect of the playoffs involved rather than not seeing them for weeks at a time.

[Wanless]

On 11/24/2020 at 11:14 PM, DonaldBrashear said:

As a season ticket holder I am in no rush to see them allow fans back into the stadiums. I have zero interest in attending ANY public sporting event until vaccines are wide spread. Not because I am afraid of coronavirus (I already got it and recovered) but because I don't want to attend a hockey game with any restrictions, e.g. social distancing or masks. Next time I go to a hockey game will be when it is a full arena with 19k fans and not a single person wearing a mask. If that is not until 2022 or 2023 then so be it.

It's been quite some time now since goalies haven't worn a mask.

 

 

[IBatch]

On 11/25/2020 at 11:39 PM, Dumb Nuck said:

COVID is on an exponential curve just wait and see how bad it’s going to be come the New Year, not to mention the money issues now, I honestly cant see a 20/21 season happening.

It’s definitely a distinct possibility.   With vaccines available soon in the New Year I’m not so sure what lens people would take if the NHLPA was at the front of the line how media would spin that.   Millionaire athletes in peak shape when others that need it to survive the virus are left waiting.    That said I hope there is a season, and that at some point fans are allowed back into the games even on a reduced level during it.   Life is tough enough during Covid, and having Sports entertainment available is a healthy service to provide.   
 

The league might also decide its better off financially using a clause in the CBA and pulling the plug at some point too.   In this case no revenue - no payment to its players.   Would help with future escrow.   Truly hard to tell at this point what’s going to happen, the US is now dealing with the most serious issues I think they’ve had since the second world  war. 

[Goal:thecup]

Here is the latest (Dec 2nd) from the NHL:

NHL 'taking our time' planning for start of 2020-21 season

Commissioner optimistic there can be return to normal by 2021-22
by Nicholas J. Cotsonika @cotsonika / NHL.com Columnist
December 2, 2020
 

The NHL is planning for what could be an unusual 2020-21 season with the goal of returning to normal in 2021-22.

The League has targeted Jan. 1, 2021 for the start of this season. 

 

"That is a work in progress, influenced largely by what we're hearing from the medical experts, and we talk to some pretty highly placed people without name-dropping," Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday.

"COVID[-19] is going through a second wave, which could be worse than the first wave, and between Thanksgiving and the aftermath and what they think is going to happen for Christmas and the aftermath, we are taking our time and making sure that as we look for ways to move forward we're focused on health and safety and doing the right things."

Commissioner Bettman made the comments in an online interview during Sports Business Journal's Dealmakers in Sports conference.

The Commissioner said the NHL Players' Association would sign off on a training camp of appropriate length, which might be slightly shorter than past seasons. Teams probably would want to play a preseason game or two, he said.

 

Based on what the NHL is being told by medical experts, particularly regarding the availability of vaccines to the general public, Commissioner Bettman said arenas could be full in 2021-22, when the Seattle Kraken begin play as an expansion team.

"I think this is perhaps the most important thing," the Commissioner said. "What we're focused on is trying to get through the '20-21 season so that we can be back in position for '21-22 to normalcy. … We are hopeful and optimistic based on everything we're hearing that we can look at normalcy by the time we get to '21-22 whatever happens this season."

Commissioner Bettman said the NHL has not asked the NHLPA to renegotiate the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement after the League and union announced a four-year extension July 10 that takes the agreement through 2025-26.

 

The Commissioner said the NHL and NHLPA are discussing short-term issues and the long-term economic impact.

Short-term issues include what the season will look like; whether teams will play in home arenas, hubs or a hybrid; and potential for temporary divisional realignment.

The Canada-United States border is closed to nonessential travel, and Canada has said it will remain so until the pandemic is under control. Commissioner Bettman said even if NHL teams could cross, the issue of quarantine remains.

 

"If you're playing a regular schedule of games, you can't quarantine players for 14 days as you're moving in and out of the country, which is why, among the other issues that are going to impact a possible season, is we literally would have to realign and create a situation where maybe the teams in Canada only play each other, and we have to realign the way all of our teams are playing competitively," the Commissioner said.

 

"It's part of the myriad of issues that we're dealing with, which is why when people say, 'Oh, well, they're trying to renegotiate,' the answer to all of this is, we've got a lot of issues and a lot of problems to deal with, and the system is going to be stressed for everyone. And is there an appetite for working through all of those issues?"

 

The owners and the players split hockey-related revenue 50-50 under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. A portion of players' salaries is held in escrow during the accounting process. The extension capped escrow, starting at 20 percent for 2020-21 and descending to 6 percent by 2023-24.

The NHL salary cap is tied to hockey-related revenue under the teams of the collective bargaining agreement as well. It will remain at $81.5 million until hockey-related revenue surpasses $3.3 billion, according to the extension.

 

It is unclear how many fans, if any, could attend games in 2020-21. Governmental limits on gatherings for public events vary from market to market.

"Whatever the revenues are, the players only get 50 percent," Commissioner Bettman said. "And if we overpay them and they don't pay us back in the short term, they have to pay us back over time. There will be stresses on the system, and we've had discussions about what those stresses are and how they might be dealt with, but we're not trying to say you must do X, Y and Z. We're trying to look for ways to continue to work together.

 

"I know it's being portrayed as something else, and it's unfortunate and it's inaccurate, because at the end of the day, if the system gets stressed, it's going to be stressed for both of us.

"If we have to pay out lots of cash, two-thirds of which is going to come back to us, that may cause some stress, but we'll have to deal with it if we're going to move forward. And by the same token, if the players owe us more money than anybody imagined, the salary cap could be flat or close to flat for the next five or six years, and players into the future will be repaying what we're owed.

"So the [situation] isn't like, well, we demand a renegotiation. To the contrary, it's we see the way the system is going to be impacted. Is it something that makes sense to deal with in the context of everything else that we may have to do, which is out of the ordinary and unanticipated, in order to be in a position to possibly play?"

********************

Edited December 7, 2020 by Goal:thecup

[Mackcanuck]

The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association are closing in on a deal that would tentatively get the campaign underway Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021.

 

The team representatives for the NHLPA were informed of the progress during a conference call Monday afternoon and were thrilled to hear the league has given up on trying to raise escrow and deferred money. It does mean the union is kicking the can down the road on the 50/50 split in Hockey Related Revenues and those dollars will have to be paid at some point.

“There won’t be any more discussions of a financial nature,” a league source said.

The reality is both sides want to play.

Edited December 8, 2020 by Mackcanuck

[Goal:thecup]

17 minutes ago, Mackcanuck said:

The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association are closing in on a deal that would tentatively get the campaign underway Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021.

 

The team representatives for the NHLPA were informed of the progress during a conference call Monday afternoon and were thrilled to hear the league has given up on trying to raise escrow and deferred money. It does mean the union is kicking the can down the road on the 50/50 split in Hockey Related Revenues and those dollars will have to be paid at some point.

“There won’t be any more discussions of a financial nature,” a league source said.

The reality is both sides want to play.

 

Thanks Mac!

This is the second wave of good news  that goes along with the announcement of the immanent arrival of the vaccine for our front line workers and seniors in care.

(Please, Covidiots, do what you are told for a couple more months and don't contribute to the numbers of unfortunate people who are going to contract this disease right before we get it under control.)

 

Maybe now we can tighten up the schedule for what must transpire before January 13th; i.e. 2 weeks quarantine plus 2 weeks (used-to--be-mandatory) training camp = December 16th.

Various reports of players isolating and working out in small groups of teammates and staff; time to "Get the band back together!"

 

Congratulations to all involved for placing The Game, and Society in General, ahead of ego and greed; and for what must have been very difficult work, negotiating and compromising on a deadly and shifting foundation.

 

Thanks to all.

Now, Drop The Puck!

[nucklehead]

you lost me at "it could be worse than the first wave"

[Goal:thecup]

37 minutes ago, nucklehead said:

you lost me at "it could be worse than the first wave"

Yeah, I hear ya.

Lots to worry about these days.

But, the bottom line is:

We may be getting an NHL season start in about 5 weeks!

We should also be hearing more and more about the players, and camp, and Hockey!

[Stierlitz]

 

 

[Goal:thecup]

Yeah, I think every day counts.

10 day camp instead of 14 days = Jan 4/20 as start of camp.

2 weeks quarantine before that = ~ Dec 20 as start of final (Official?) quarantine. 

Yahoo, and, Get &^*%-ing Going, Jake!"-Horvat

 

19 minutes ago, Stierlitz said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Goal:thecup