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Pluses and minuses of the new NHL season |
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As fans continue to celebrate the announced Jan. 13 return of the NHL, here are pluses and minuses of what we will see in 2020-21:
Plus: 56 games in 116 days: What this means is that your favorite team is going to be playing, on average, close to every other day.
Minus: 56 games in 116 days: We’ve seen condensed schedules before and it generally means weary players and more injuries. Managing the workload of goalies will be crucial for coaches.
Plus: The All-Canadian Division: How often has this come up in barroom talk? Now we are going to see it. The Maple Leafs and Canadiens are going to play nine or 10 times. This is like turning back the clock to the Original Six Days. The hostility level will be overflowing. In theory, every Canadian team has improved. This should be a highly entertaining competition.
Minus: COVID-19 will exact a toll: This isn’t going to be like the 2019-20 postseason restart. There won’t be a bubble to protect players. If you have watched the NFL this fall, you know we are going to see positive tests for the virus. Teams are going to lose players for periods of time. Unlike in the NFL, when players missed no games or one game, if they were exposed, NHL players could miss multiple games. COVID will play havoc with competition. It’s unavoidable. You just have to hope that no one needs to be hospitalized.
Plus: Wide-Open Stanley Cup Race: The regular-season changes from a marathon to a sprint. Good starts and length winning streaks will mean more. Over 82 games, the strongest teams do indeed survive. A 56-game season provides increased opportunity for surprises.
Minus: We are not going to see Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon in the same regular-season game or Montreal isn’t going to play Boston. No Tampa Bay vs. Dallas rematch. The variety of opponents will be limited in this format.
Plus: Every game will be important: To make the playoffs, you have to finish in the top four in your division and every team in your division only plays division games. Every game is a four-point game.
Minus: Some teams got breaks, some didn’t: The Blues and Wild escape the tough Central to play in the easier West. The Oilers and Flames would have had an easier path to the playoffs staying in the West, although they will also be competitive in the North. It’s fair to wonder whether the arrival of Boston makes it more difficult for the Penguins to make the playoffs. Imagine the Lightning like having the Bruins and Maple Leafs gone from their division. The Buffalo Sabres, moving to the East, now have a more challenging playoff route, although it was going to be a rough ride either way.
Plus: Multiple-game series in the same city, like baseball: This is a way to limit travel, which will reduce team expenses and make teams less vulnerable to the virus. But this could be a fun experiment and it could increase the intensity of a rivalry, the way playoff hockey does. Familiarity breeds contempt.
Minus: Still not likely we will see fans in building any time soon, or at least not very many. Some states, such as Florida, might be more accepting of some. If the general population starts receiving the COVID vaccine in April, perhaps we will start allowing more fans in the playoffs. What is clear: teams are going to lose millions of dollars this season if there are no fans in buildings.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
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