Over the span of the last few days, we’ve heard more and more chatter about a potential NHL return in July. With a return the league would play games across four NHL arenas, completing the regular season in some form before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

As Team President, of anyone in the Bruins organization, Cam Neely is the most in tap with the ongoing discussions regarding bringing hockey back this season and awarding a Stanley Cup.

Having weekly meetings with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, Neely admits things were a bit hectic during the first few weeks of the NHL’s shutdown.

“As you can imagine, the first couple of weeks were pretty hectic. The amount of conference calls and zoom calls. I’m sure anyone that is trying to get some sort of work accomplished is doing the same thing, but it’s really a new way of life right now,” Neely said Thursday in a Town Hall meeting with Bruins season ticket holders.

“Communicating to the hockey ops group, the scouts who are all over the globe. But, zoom or we use team from a hockey ops perspective is a great way for us to connect and stay connected. But the calls and zoom meetings have decreased a little.”

Neely revealed that weekly calls with the league and the teams have become the norm.

“I have weekly calls with the league. Monday there’s a certain group, Tuesday there is no group, Wednesday there’s a group,” said Neely. So we are trying to keep everyone informed as best we can and try to understand where we’re heading and what’s going on from the league perspective.”

As much traction as the NHL’s four-arena July start plan has gained over the last few days, there are still so many details and other options to discuss.

According to Neely, “everything is on the table.”

“Everything is on the table now, based off the conversations I’ve had with the league. Obviously, we have to wait and see and what happens nationally and North America wise,” said Neely.

Should the NHL return in July and complete however many regular season games they decide, followed by a Stanley Cup Playoffs, the start date to the 2020-21 season will have to be pushed back.

If that ends up the case, the NHL has a plan to complete an 82-game regular season that will allow the Stanley Cup Playoffs to end around its normal June date in the summer of 2021.

If that’s what it takes for the players to return to the ice this season, and have a Stanley Cup champion crowned, the players and owners are open to it.

“I can tell you this, both the players and ownership want to do everything possible to get this season completed. If that means playing into the summer, we’re all willing to do that,” said Neely.

“Obviously, that would mean pushing next season back a little bit and they feel there’s an opportunity to be able to push next season back and still get an 82 game schedule in the next year.”

So what happens on these calls with Bettman, Daly and the teams? Does the league throw out an idea and have the teams take it or leave it? Or does the league present the teams with their thoughts and ask for feedback in the coming days?

Neely gave us an inside look on that.

“I think what happens is they present these ideas to us in a group and then guys digest, then we talk internally and then we go back with either Gary or Bill individually as a team and kind of run through what we think are some pros and cons of some of the ideas that have been tossed out,” said Neely. “But they do want it to be a collaborative effort among the member clubs. They’re not just saying this is what we’re going to do and this is how it’s going to be. They do want input from the clubs.”

It would be interesting to hear the different thoughts of different teams when it comes to which direction the NHL should go when they’re allowed to safely return to the ice.

I’m sure teams like the Los Angeles Kings who were out of playoff contention at the time of the shutdown have different thoughts than a say Washington Capitals who have a great chance at lifting the Stanley Cup once again.

“Like I said, they’ve talked about everything. Playing in front of no fans, playing in half buildings, quarter of a building and what it would take. Obviously, not only nationally, but state-by-state there could be different restrictions so they’re looking at that,” said Neely

“When the time comes, they’ll look at what state restrictions are, city restrictions and see what we can do. The most fun is to play in front of the fans and that’s what the players would prefer, but having said that if it gets to the point where we can play hockey games without fans and get the season going, I can see the league recommending that course of action.”

Once the league gives players the OK to return to the ice, things won’t happen overnight. Most players haven’t touched the ice since mid-March and will need at minimum three weeks of a training camp like setting before safely being able to play in regular season games.

“We’re trying to be as patient as possible. Players are doing everything they can right now to keep themselves in the best shape they can before we hopefully get back to training and some sort of training camp when we can get back on the ice,” Neely added.

Of course, there’s a ton of concern surrounding player safety when players can return. Both from a COIVD-19 and injury standpoint.

There’s been a lot of talk about whether older teams like the Bruins would be at a bigger disadvantage as their core group of veterans are on the back nine of their career.

Neely does not seem to think so.

“I just know our group, especially the veteran guys, are so professional and they all realize that their careers are ticking down. They’ve played more years than they have in front of them and they see the opportunity here,” Neely said.

“My guess is that because of the group we have and the opportunity in front of us, and how many years they may feel they have left to compete, they’d be ready to go.”

When NHL games do resume once again, me thinks the Bruins will be just fine.

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