Bettman declined to address speculation about an all-Canadian division given the border closureGETTY IMAGES
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Saturday said that he "wouldn’t be surprised if the next NHL season begins after the tentatively planned Dec. 1 start date," according to Colin Stephenson of NEWSDAY. Bettman said that there is "still too much uncertainty to know what that season will look like." He also "wouldn’t address speculation about an all-Canadian division given the U.S.-Canada border closure to nonessential travel." But he said, "If there’s an option to consider, believe me, we’re considering it." The league has "repeatedly said opening training camps Nov. 17 and beginning the season Dec. 1 were tentative targets." However, Bettman on Saturday "raised the possibility of the season starting later in December or in January." Meanwhile, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that the league "can wait a certain amount of time until fans might be allowed in arenas but admitted, 'I can’t sit here and guarantee that’ll be the case.'" He also said that it is "possible the league could start Jan. 1 and still play 82 games." That might push games into summer '21, but Daly noted that this season’s restart "proved the league can play games in the summer if it needs to." Still, Daly said that the NHL "would prefer not to do that" (NEWSDAY, 9/20).
BETTMAN NONCOMMITTAL ON FANS: SPORTSNET.ca's Marc Spector noted Bettman did "hint that the league will be nimble" in how it approaches the '20-21 season. Bettman said, “How we start doesn’t necessarily relate to how we’re going to finish." He added, "It's conceivable that we start without fans, and we move to socially distant fans at some point. And by some point in time maybe our buildings are open." Bettman: “There’s full, there’s empty and there’s a combination" (SPORTSNET.ca, 9/19). In L.A., Helene Elliott noted Bettman did "concede that leaving fans out of arenas created a void that 'is enormous and profoundly felt.'" Bettman admitted, “Yes, there will be a revenue hit. It’s no secret that attendance directly and indirectly impacts at least 50% of our revenues and on whatever basis we may or may not be able to have fans in our buildings." But he noted having fans "is something that may be well beyond our control in terms of local government regulations, that will determine how much the shortfall is off of where we were off of where we were projecting. So again, while we know it will be less, we know there’s a substantial revenue impact, I’m comfortable that our franchises will be strong enough to weather this" (L.A. TIMES, 9/20).
UNCERTAINTY ABOUNDS: In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch writes while the NHL has "successfully pulled off the bubble and is on the verge of awarding the Cup sometime in the next two weeks," many questions remain on "what’s going to happen to start 2020-21." Garrioch: "If you think Bettman and Daly were being a bit vague, they absolutely were because with the threat of COVID-19 they have no idea when, how and if next season will begin" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 9/21). In Toronto, Cathal Kelly believes the question "shouldn’t be when the 2020-21 NHL season starts, but if a 2020-21 season makes any sense." He writes, "You’d think the NHL had taken Omaha Beach, rather than convinced its employees to follow basic medical protocols." Kelly on when next season might begin: "Do I hear February? Will anyone give me February? How about March? Who’s willing to go to March?" In trying to "plot its near future, the NHL has a bunch of problems, which boil down to one problem -- how much are people willing to give up in order to continue playing hockey?" Kelly: "The most obvious solution -- one no one in the NHL has said out loud yet -- is putting things on hold for a year." That way "everyone loses a year, but no one loses their shirt" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/21).
IT'S WORKED SO FAR: THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell wrote, "If you’re going to scoff at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s stated intention to play a full 82-game season and playoff in 2020-21, do so at your own peril." This is a league that "often messes things up, but the way it has handled the pandemic while maintaining the integrity of the Stanley Cup tournament has been nothing short of remarkable." As Bettman "pointed out, nobody is doing a victory lap yet, but including exhibition games, the league has put on 136 games in two venues over the past 53 days." It has "conducted more than 31,000 tests without a single positive." And it has "met the needs of more than 1,200 people from the 24 participating teams in the bubbles." On top of everything, it has been a "financial success." One source said that the league has spent $100M to put the tournament on and has "accrued at least" $500M in revenues "and counting, as well as securing more future corporate sponsors who were impressed with the way it operated." Campbell: "So when Bettman says he wants an 82-game season, even amidst the uncertainty of a second wave of a global pandemic, we should not dismiss the possibility, as much of a longshot as it seems at the moment" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 9/19).
