NHL AIMING, HOPING FOR JUNE, JULY RETURN

TORONTO, ON -- As the world continues to debate when to lift quarantine and lockdown restrictions, the sports community has started to target re-opening dates around the globe, albeit without fans in attendance.

UFC 249 is looking to take place on May 9, NASCAR is aiming for a late-May return, the PGA Tour will return June 8-14 with the Charles Schwab Challenge, and soccer leagues in Europe, like Serie A in Italy and La Liga in Spain are eyeing May returns, with England’s Premier League hoping to get back to action in mid-June.

As we slowly warm up to the idea of having live sports back in our lives via our television sets, the NHL, NBA and MLS, among other pro sports leagues, are planning different return scenarios based on the advice and recommendations of government and medical experts – not armchair doctors on social media.

The conversation regarding the return of NHL play heated over the last 24 hours. Florida Panthers President & CEO Matthew Caldwell added fuel to the fire Wednesday morning when, on an hour-and-a-half ‘Re-Open Florida Task Force’ conference call, he publicly acknowledged the NHL’s plan to resume the season in July.

Caldwell, who also indicated the NHL and NBA “are working very closely together” given their season schedules typically occur alongside one another, revealed the current best-case-scenario approach to hitting the ice this summer.

“The goal, of at least both those leagues, is to finish this season in some way, shape or form. A lot of different ways to do that,” he said. “The latest that’s being discussed – and again, this is not finalized, I think the direction that both leagues are going, and things that I’m hearing – is resuming play some time this summer.

“At least from the NHL, we’re trying to target some time in July. And when we feel that players are safe and we have enough testing and have enough ways to get back on the ice, it’s probably going to be contained at playing in four or five neutral sites.”

Two separate well-placed league sources confirmed the NHL’s goal – or Plan A – is to allow players and select staff to return to their arenas and hold training camps at some point in June, with the regular-season continuing in July, followed by the start of playoffs.

“When we are able to come out from the quarantine period, players are going to need time to work out,” Caldwell said.

Several teams have held discussions with the NHL about utilizing their arenas to host games – again, without fans – in order to complete the regular-season in a timely manner. It is believed the NHL is weighing out its options and could select four markets to play out the season – those options include NHL-only cities Raleigh, Saint Paul, Las Vegas, Nashville, Glendale, Washington, Tampa, and according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Edmonton. Non-NHL cities are no longer being considered.

In an in-depth interview with Sportsnet’s Ron MacLean on Wednesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman reiterated their plans have not yet been finalized and the League continues to weigh its options. From what I have been told, the next two weeks or so will have a big impact on what the NHL – and I would assume other sports leagues – ultimately decides to do going forward.

“We are hopeful, that by doing the right things in the short-term, that we’ll be able to come back and hopefully complete this season on some basis that is fair and has integrity,” Bettman told MacLean.

“We’re modeling, we’re trying to see what our options will be under whatever scenario unfolds.”

Bettman made it clear “the decision (to return to play), ultimately, will be made by medical people and people who run governments at all different levels.” While Plan A is obviously their top choice, the NHL has created scenarios that could result in resuming action by going straight into the playoffs, having a play-in tournament for wildcard clubs, and so on.

What is evident is the NHL, like all other leagues, is doing what it can to return once it’s safe to do so. Even when teams are given the green light to train and practice again, limited team and league staff and media will be permitted to initially join them.

Going back to neutral sites, Bettman indicated the League has discussed options ranging from two sites to four sites, and not necessarily specific to each division, though divisional teams could play out most of their games in a particular centralized city. Additionally, we could see upwards of three games occur daily in each market.

An interesting point, though, is that if the NHL moves ahead with its Plan A scenario, neutral sites might only be used to finish the balance of the regular-season. Bettman acknowledged the playoffs could occur in the cities in which teams call home.

“Ideally from our standpoint – and it would resolve a lot of issues – would be if we could complete the regular-season, even if it's on a centralized basis, and then go into the playoffs the way we normally play them. That would be ideal, but that’s, again, one of the numerous models we’re looking at, and if we can’t do ideal, if we can’t do perfect, we’re going to have to figure out what’s next to perfect.”

Again, all of this will be determined by governing bodies and medical experts, but as Bettman mentioned, it’s clear the goal is to get the season back underway, in some form, and if the 2020-21 campaign starts in November, the NHL is prepared to go ahead with that strategy.

We are still facing an uphill battle, that much is unmistakable. We are combatting this virus, we are arguing with ourselves, we are fighting our egos, we are battling misinformation, and we are wrestling our fears. It has not been easy. But we know there is light at the end of this massive tunnel, and we will get there.

The NHL is working towards its light, as well. And once it is safe to do so, it will return, and when it does, we will all embrace its safe comeback as we take another step towards normalcy.

DRAFT AND THE OFF-SEASON

A lot of hockey fans scratched their heads at the idea of holding the 2020 NHL Draft before the conclusion of the season and playoffs. Imagine how most those within the game felt.

Many team executives across the NHL balked at the idea of having the draft take place before the Stanley Cup gets awarded. There were too many “WTF” questions that arose at the thought. But you need not worry, it doesn’t sound like this idea will come to fruition if play resumes.

“It was a trial balloon,” Bettman said of hosting the NHL Draft in June. “No decision has been made.”

The expectation is the NHL Draft will be conducted after the playoffs wrap up in August or September, providing that outcome takes shape.

Concerns over lottery rankings, draft positioning and trades are too loud, and apprehension regarding drafting European players when their 2020-21 seasons are presumably underway by September are so far met with a ‘this is a unique time’ response.

Once the Cup is awarded, pending a return to play, the NHL will have to act quickly. It will have to dish out its awards, put on the Draft and allow a few weeks of free agency to take place. For those in management and scouting, there won’t be much of a break this year.

The NHL’s preference is to stage a smaller draft event, similar to what occurred in 2005 in Ottawa. I covered that draft, with Sidney Crosby going first-overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It took place at a ballroom inside the Westin hotel, with a small stage and media risers, and only the top 20 or so prospects were invited. Optically and content wise, the NHL would like to do something similar.

Chances are the NHL will hold a virtual draft, like what the NFL is going to pull off this weekend, starting tonight. You can be sure the NHL will be looking closely at how the NFL Draft unfolds and if it can’t put on an actual event, it may very well go in this direction.

As for free agency, under the NHL’s Plan A scenario to its season unpausing, we’ll likely see about four to six weeks of an off-season before training camps get underway in October.

We asked NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly two weeks ago on our show, The Hot Stove on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (listen to his interview here), whether a shorter off-season would be a concern, and that does not appear to be the case.

“My view of free agency is maybe the first 10 days are really relevant, the last 10 days are really relevant, and the time in between, not so much,” Daly said on April 4. “And I think a lot of the time periods we have built into the CBA, just by nature of having a 12-month calendar, can be shortened considerably without any material impact on our game.”

NHLPA Executive Mathieu Schneider, who joined our show on April 11 (this to his interview here), indicated the players are “flexible” when it comes to the length of the off-season, given the circumstances, and their primary concerns revolve more so around body recovery, but added “everything has to be taken into consideration.”