NHL won’t mandate full visors like the Finnish Liiga
Chris Johnston: The Finnish Liiga will get back underway later this month and when they resume, players will be required to wear a full face shield.
Have been told that NHL and NHLPA are not considering this during their health protocol discussions.
Re-alignment talk
Michael Russo: Multiple league and team sources are saying that the Minnesota Wild are back in the Pacific/West division for now. The Wild are fine with whatever division they end up in.
- Pierre LeBrun: “We warned everyone that the realignment plan the NHL shared with governors on the call Wednesday was subject to change, and that’s exactly what appears to be happening. Sources confirm the NHL is looking to make a few tweaks to those divisions again. “
- Pierre LeBrun: “As colleague @RussoHockey reported, Minnesota could swap again. Also hear Dallas is a possibility. Could be a few other tweaks. Clearly some governors on Wednesday’s call who weren’t pleased with the temporary divisions as presented. So stay tuned.”
- Elliotte Friedman: One potential option for this year’s re-alignment is to have the Wild/Blues in the Pacific and the Stars to the Central.
NHL may be looking for a COVID vaccine if made public
John Shannon: “Source confirms that the NHL is planning the private purchase of a COVID vaccine for all constituents involved in the potential upcoming season.”
John Shannon: “For clarification… The NHL is interested in securing vaccine when and if it’s available for private purchase. Is it at this point? — no. The league also is adamant they would not jump the line to do so.”
NHL looking for more revenue streams
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The NHL is exploring the idea of selling advertising on players’ helmets as an additional revenue source. There will likely be advertising on jerseys at some point but they want to be careful with that. Ads on helmets may come first as a tester.
