The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup.
http://https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/1310774088248569856?s=20
They turned their first-round sweep last year into a Stanley Cup Championship.
The NHL Bubble playoffs went off without a hitch. Announcing again Monday that with 33,000 tests, there were no COVID positive cases.
http://https://twitter.com/PR_NHL/status/1310641596367503368?s=20
Next, the NHL Draft October 6 and 7. Then, Free Agency. Then? That is the question.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman suggests the season will start “Mid-December to beginning of January”. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has said the plan is to have an 82 game season. But, how will this look?
Some have suggested an empty arena concept to start. Others have suggested an all Canadian division and American divisions to start. Others thought of a partial bubble.
On the idea of a 4-6 month bubble for the NHL Players, NHLPA Donald Fehr says “not a chance”.Tampa Bay Lightning forward Barclay Goodrow called the 2 month bubble “a grind”. Canuck Captain Bo Horvat went into quarantine a week after his son was born. It would not be a reasonable expectation for players to do that again.
What do fans think? Canuck fan Tyler Noble wants the season to start as soon as possible.
“Obviously we endured summer hockey this year under unique circumstances… Normally this is the time we are starting hockey. I think the League needs to keep it as minimal as they can. Obviously, health and safety are paramount.”
The NHL was able to gain a lot of PR respect when they patiently planned and waited for the time to restart their season. When the NHL Bubble idea began, Vancouver was under consideration. However, Dr.Bonnie Henry put public safety over hockey. Hockey fans and non hockey fans applauded her for it.
While safety is paramount, the economic factor also cannot be ignored. Seven teams have not played a game since March. They are Buffalo, Detroit, New Jersey, Ottawa, Anaheim. San Jose, and Los Angeles. Frank Saravelli from TSN reported at least 17 teams NHL teams have reduced pay amid COVID-19 crunch.http://https://www.tsn.ca/seravalli-at-least-17-nhl-teams-have-reduced-pay-amid-covid-19-crunch-1.1522380
The other factor is also the regional perspective on how the pandemic is being treated. In Canada, we have treated this with general caution. In the USA, there are fans in the stands for some games. This includes the NFL and College games.
Never the less, NHL will patiently wait for the next season to start. And the fans will watch it.