Now what? What comes next after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and countless others worked successfully behind the scenes to complete the 2019-20 season by holding a Stanley Cup tournament unlike any other inside not one but two coronavirus bubbles in Canada?
Bettman sounded almost giddy as he presented Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos with the Stanley Cup on Monday in Edmonton, Alberta. One long, complicated journey was done. Another one is about to begin, and it could be every bit as complex, if not more so.
No one can say with any degree of certainty when, where or how the 2020-21 season will be conducted. Bettman acknowledged as much before the Stanley Cup Final began Sept. 19 inside a Rogers Place that was devoid of fans but dressed up for a made-for-TV event.
“Nobody can tell me whether or not the border between Canada and the United States will be open by a certain date,” Bettman said. “Nobody can tell me what the state of COVID-19 is going to be. Nobody can tell us whether our arenas will have either socially distanced or fully occupied buildings. And we’re going to have to do the same thing we did for the return to play: Explore all the options, be flexible and agile enough to implement when the appropriate time comes.”
The league could begin the 2020-21 season Dec. 1, although that seems less likely with each passing day. A delay could prove beneficial as more is learned about the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. An opening day after Jan. 1 could be more practical.
Bettman’s desire is to play a full 82-game schedule, which could push the playoffs well past the usual early June completion and into July. As long as it’s done before the start of the delayed Tokyo Olympics on July 23, then rights-holder NBC could shift seamlessly from hockey to the Games.
The league also has played 48-game seasons during lockout-shortened seasons.
Play could begin in home arenas without fans. But if the season moves along without coronavirus outbreaks among players, coaches and staff, and local medical authorities give their blessings, some buildings could host limited and socially distanced crowds.
“It’s conceivable that we start without fans, that we move to socially distant fans at some point and by some point in time, maybe, our buildings are open,” Bettman said. “I’m not saying that’s the case, but if you’re thinking through all of the conceivable possibilities – there’s full, there’s empty, there’s a combination – and again, how we start doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how we have to finish.”
One thing appears certain: The 2020-21 season will not be conducted in a bubble.
“Certainly not for a season, of course not,” Don Fehr, executive director of the players’ union, told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Nobody is going to do that for four months or six months or something like that. Whether we could create some protected environments that people would be tested and they’d be clean when they came in and lasted for some substantially shorter period of time with people cycling in and out is one of the things I suspect we will examine.”
For the Ducks and Kings, two of the seven teams that did not advance to participate in the NHL’s return to play hub cities in Edmonton and Toronto, the business of returning to the ice in their home arenas has meant planning for all manner of scenarios.
The Ducks and Kings haven’t played since March 11. The NHL paused its season March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, following the lead of the NBA, which shut down one day earlier. The NHL then returned to play Aug. 1, after an unprecedented 4 1/2-month break.
“No question, as you go through this, you’re modeling so many different scenarios and you’re not knowing which one will prevail,” said Aaron Teats, the Ducks’ vice president and chief marketing officer. “You’re going to have to have a high degree of flexibility.”
It’s not as simple as planning for fans versus no fans or 41 home dates versus something less, though. There are many more options, and the Ducks and Kings have had the luxury (or the curse) of having plenty of time to prepare for what might come next.
“A lot of the conversations we had were months ago, the majority were in March and April,” said Kelly Cheeseman, the Kings’ chief operating officer and alternate governor. “It got us to a point where we’re prepared. I would say all of the (NHL’s) venues are well prepared.”
No question, the NHL is more dependent on ticket and concession sales than the other three major sports leagues in North America, but Cheeseman said he believed the league could begin the 2020-21 season without fans in the seats and still withstand the economic shortfall.
“If we start out without fans, and hopefully eventually we can play with all our fans in attendance, it’s important that we keep our players playing and our fans involved, and the economics will work themselves out,” Cheeseman said.
The Ducks, Kings and the NHL’s other 29 teams (and soon to be 30 with the addition of an expansion team in Seattle for 2021-22) have monitored how the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball have managed their seasons, with and without fans, and kept close contact with the other leagues.
What happens next won’t happen without a great deal of research, advice and consent.
“I would imagine there will be increased and ongoing communications between the league and the players’ association to make sure they get this right,” Teats said. “It took time to set up the hub cities and it was terrific. The league took its time to make sure it had all the facts in front of it.
“The communication will only intensify to make sure it has all the facts again.”
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