NHL Franchise Boys

Could the NHL afford to skip the 2020-21 season? Let’s start with the obvious: a start date of Jan. 1, mid-January or sometime in February — which some teams believe is still possible — would likely mean a shortened season. That could mean upward of 65 games or as low as 48 games, like we’ve seen in seasons impacted by work stoppages. According to league sources, a 48-game season is considered the absolute minimum at this point.

After that shortened regular season, expect a traditional 16-team Stanley Cup playoff tournament. “We want to make it as traditional a tournament as we possibly can. We want to maintain the competitive integrity of the playoffs, for sure,” said Daly, who wouldn’t rule out an expanded postseason but indicated it is “not currently being contemplated.”

The NHL could possibly open the 2020-21 NHL season in one of the most beautiful locations in all of Canada. The NHL has floated around the idea of opening the new season with an outdoor game at Alberta’s Lake Louise. The glacial lake within Banff National Park is famous for its Rocky Mountain backdrop and skating in the winter. Discussions are in the early stages and there would certainly be hurdles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently announced January 1st, 2021 as the expected start date for the new NHL season.

The Winter Classic is played on New Year’s Day every year, so it isn’t surprising that the league wants to continue the tradition and open the season with an outdoor game on January 1st. The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues were previously scheduled to play the 2021 Winter Classic at Target Field, but the event is in jeopardy due to the pandemic. It’s unclear which two teams would be playing at Lake Louise, but you have to think given the location, that the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers would be front-runners.

Considering how cold the weather gets on the lake and the lack of sunlight, the NHL may choose to play several games during a short period of time. There will be plenty of effort required to pull something like this off, so the league could decide to make the most of it with a small tournament featuring Canadian teams. There are certainly some staggering logistics that would be required to make this work, but the result would be something unlike hockey fans have ever seen before.