NHL, NHLPA want to have their schedule back on a normal calendar to accommodate Olympic breakGETTY IMAGES
The NHL is driving to "start next season on time," and one of the primary reasons is the '22 Beijing Games, according to Pierre LeBrun of THE ATHLETIC. The NHL and NHLPA in the last CBA extension agreed to go back to the Olympics, and the '22 Beijing Games are slated for Feb. 4-20 next season. That also is "why the NHL and NHLPA want to have their schedule back on a normal calendar in order to accommodate the Olympic break next year." One gets "every sense that while the league will do all it can to plow through it and award the Stanley Cup, it’s not going to do anything to seriously impact the timing and flow" of the '21-22 season. That is a "huge season for the NHL and NHLPA," for the "hope is crowds will be back in buildings and revenues will be flowing and a new U.S. TV deal kicks in." That "trumps whatever version of this season is going to be." So, "keep that in mind as the league navigates these uncertain waters." It is about "getting a semblance of a season in, satisfying the TV partners, awarding a Cup, but then dropping the mic and turning the page" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/22).
POSTPONING POSTPONMENT TALK: In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote the NHL has what "appears to be a two-week buffer following the tentatively scheduled May 8 end of the regular season to accommodate postponements." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly via an email exchange wrote that the NHL has "not yet begun to discuss -- or even consider -- contingencies if all teams are unable to complete the 56-game schedule." But Brooks wrote, "That, I don’t understand," for it "seems simple enough to declare immediately that team standings will be determined by winning percentage rather than points if everyone isn’t able complete the schedule." Brooks wondered, "Why wait?" (N.Y. POST, 1/24).
