For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman indicated in an interview on Friday that the league is prepared to implement a number of scenarios to resume the league’s schedule to complete the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that those are subject to when it is safe and practical to return to action. "We are exploring every contingency. We're looking out in the calendar to see 'well, what's the last day we could be playing under other scenarios, and then backing it up', and what are our options in the timeframe that's available.… Bettman said on Sportsnet's Hockey Central on Friday. "We're doing all sorts of modeling, whether it's completing the existing regular season as is and then a full playoffs, or whether or not based on time constraints, we're going to have to make adjustments and do something different, novel, (and) creative, and we're constantly reanalyzing and reworking that. That's something that's like a puzzle and you've got to fit the pieces together, although the interesting part of this puzzle is you don't know exactly what it's going to look like when you're done." As with the NBA, Major League Baseball and other professional sports, the NHL is subject to what local, state, provincial and federal governments will allow in terms of public gathering. "This is a unique situation for all of us. It transcends the NHL, it transcends sports. This is hopefully only a once in a lifetime thing for all of us." Bettman said. "We are looking at every contingency and what's doable. Everything for consideration is on the table, doesn't mean that any of those are going to happen. I don't want to speculate as to which direction we're going in. We are analyzing every conceivable option that is available to us and that's not something that's static. In other words, what's an option today, there may be different options, fewer options more options, who knows, next week. And so my hope and expectation is that we can finish the season in some form, award the Stanley Cup and then be able to move on, feeling that we accomplished that goal of finishing the season for our fans." The key factor in what kind of season it will be is when the NHL gets the go ahead. Ideally, the league will want to complete at least some of the regular season (to have every club play the same amount of games), but that might be impossible if the “pause… lasts into late April or early May. An alternative could be an expanded playoff format, with additional teams playing a short play-in series, which could take the form of the two wildcard clubs each conference playing the 9th and 10th place teams in a one-game elimination or best-of-three series. Depending on scheduling limitations and the calendar, the early rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs could be shortened from a best-of-seven to best-of-five series. *******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
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