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The news over the last 24 hours has been good for hockey fans, as TSN’s Darren Dreger and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun report that the NHL and Player’s Association have tabled any further financial adjustments to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and that the indications are that a 56-game regular season will begin on January 13.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated to LeBrun that the two sides are moving forward with the other issues like COVID protocols, scheduling and divisional realignment that have to be approved by the Board of Governors and the players.
In terms of scheduling, the three eight-team American Divisions will probably play eight games (4 home, 4 away) against the seven clubs inside their division. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, the schedule most likely will be imbalanced because of the all-Canadian Division being only seven teams.
Playing an intra-divisional schedule with six teams (Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver), the breakdown of 56 games will probably be 10 games vs. two clubs (20 games) and nine games against the other four (36 games). Based on geographic factors, it could mean playing the Senators and Habs 10 times (5 home, 5 away) and the four Western clubs nine (5 home, 4 away and 4 home, 5 away).
An annual tradition 💙
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 8, 2020
Making a special virtual visit to @SickKidsNews to answer questions, play games and send out swag.#LeafsForever x #SickKidsVS pic.twitter.com/M201txY5jL
With teams play in their own buildings in front of no fans, a schedule featuring a series of two or three games over a number of days similar to Major League Baseball could be used to limit travel and hotel costs.
Other factors that the NHL and NHLPA have to hammer out are considerations of player availability and the salary cap based on the status of the minor leagues. At this point, nine ECHL teams have opted out of playing the 2020-21 season and it is possible that could happen with the American Hockey League (scheduled to start in early February) if there is no prospect of fans in the stands.
The NHL may consider extended rosters and taxi squads similar to what MLB did last season with the minor leagues shut down. The additional players would likely not count against the $81.5 million salary cap and would earn their minor league salary, but whether these players would be subject to waivers if they are activated has yet to be determined. With the probability that players will become unavailable due to testing positive, those on a taxi squad may be available on emergency recall in those circumstances, but may be subject to normal waiver restrictions in other situations.
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Podcast time with NJ & MIB.
— The Leafs Convo (@TheLeafsConvo2) December 6, 2020
Enjoy!!@MikeInBuffalo @mapleleafsaggr @IamNormanJames #theleafsconvo #tmltalk #nhl #LeafsForever https://t.co/Ev5fyl9XAK
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