TSN: The NHL and NHLPA keeping updating and expanding a document for the rules, regulations, and protocol for the 2020-21 NHL season according to Pierre LeBurn. The NHLPA hopes to have their executive board vote by next Monday or Tuesday, with the NHL board of governors by the end of next week according to a source. A team like the Ottawa Senators needs to have the deal ratified soon as their camp would open up about December 31th, and with the 14 days of quarantine, that would put a travel date of next Wednesday if the player/coach isn’t in town already.
Darren Dreger adds that with training expected to start in about three weeks, there are some that are still skeptical about having the season start in under five weeks.
“I’m talking about club executives, general managers, players’ agents; they recognize the amount of work that has to get done.
And there’s still COVID-19 that all the provinces, the states, the federal governments are wrestling with in terms of health authorities. The NHL assures that once they have an agreement, they can get it done and drop the puck on January 13th, but there is so much to do and there are plenty of skeptics.”
Frank Seravalli notes that their preference is to start with all 31 teams playing in their home buildings but there are four or five teams that may not be able host games at this point in time.
“So Plan B remains the idea of hybrid bubbles or hub cities to potentially start, one in each of the four divisions that would host the teams in the two-week in, one-week out sort of timeframe. And the idea would be to start the season with perhaps 10 or 20 games in that format before then hopefully rolling out to each of the 31 buildings.”