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Lets talk NHL in the summer...

Where do we think they’ll play these games? Ok so obviously we all know that NCAA rinks can vary in dimension but the NHL has set rules.

Would they play a Wild vs Blues game at the United Center for example? Or maybe they use U of North Dakota for example.
 
Where do we think they’ll play these games? Ok so obviously we all know that NCAA rinks can vary in dimension but the NHL has set rules.

Would they play a Wild vs Blues game at the United Center for example? Or maybe they use U of North Dakota for example.

 
From the article...

Instead, the league is looking at regional NHL arenas, aligned by division, where teams could potentially finish their seasons. Sources told ESPN that the current favorites are the home rinks for the Carolina Hurricanes(Metropolitan Division), Edmonton Oilers(Pacific Division) and Minnesota Wild (Central Division). A front-runner from the Atlantic Division has yet to emerge.
 
From the article...

Instead, the league is looking at regional NHL arenas, aligned by division, where teams could potentially finish their seasons. Sources told ESPN that the current favorites are the home rinks for the Carolina Hurricanes(Metropolitan Division), Edmonton Oilers(Pacific Division) and Minnesota Wild (Central Division). A front-runner from the Atlantic Division has yet to emerge.
Makes sense.
 
Problem with Atlantic is basically every location has been hit kind of hard, and games in Florida would just be skating in slush

They need a hotel near the arena where they can hold, up to like 200 people at a time in quarantine

Minnesota is most obvious one, hotel is basically attached to the rink

Edmonton arena is brand new with an entertainment district that has a hotel
 
Problem with Atlantic is basically every location has been hit kind of hard, and games in Florida would just be skating in slush

They need a hotel near the arena where they can hold, up to like 200 people at a time in quarantine

Minnesota is most obvious one, hotel is basically attached to the rink

Edmonton arena is brand new with an entertainment district that has a hotel

They could easily play here in Buffalo. That is, if King Cuomo wasn’t a moron. We are a 7 hour drive from NYC. There have been less than 150 deaths in Erie County, which has 920k residents. NYC is, and has been, the cancer that holds the entire state hostage, for absolutely no good reason.

Not only is there a hotel now connected to the Arena in the Harbour Center, there are dozens upon dozens of hotels, within a mile of the airport, which is a 15 minute drive away. There are also probably 8-10 hotels within a couple miles of the Arena to begin with.
 
They could easily play here in Buffalo. That is, if King Cuomo wasn’t a moron. We are a 7 hour drive from NYC. There have been less than 150 deaths in Erie County, which has 920k residents. NYC is, and has been, the cancer that holds the entire state hostage, for absolutely no good reason.

Not only is there a hotel now connected to the Arena in the Harbour Center, there are dozens upon dozens of hotels, within a mile of the airport, which is a 15 minute drive away. There are also probably 8-10 hotels within a couple miles of the Arena to begin with.
Ya that would make sense

Does buffalo have a lot of rinks near the arena? Cause teams will need practice

Also there will need to be at least 4 dressing rooms if they wanna run 2 games a day

Its gonna end up in toronto though imo, can use the old gardens for practice and set up, league so many hotels within like a 2 block radius of Scotiabank center, so much media already there
 
Ya that would make sense

Does buffalo have a lot of rinks near the arena? Cause teams will need practice

Also there will need to be at least 4 dressing rooms if they wanna run 2 games a day

Its gonna end up in toronto though imo, can use the old gardens for practice and set up, league so many hotels within like a 2 block radius of Scotiabank center, so much media already there

Yes. Next to, and connected to, the arena there are 2 other rinks, both with 2 dressing rooms. On the site, it says they have the only 3 rink complex in the NHL.

 
Yes. Next to, and connected to, the arena there are 2 other rinks, both with 2 dressing rooms. On the site, it says they have the only 3 rink complex in the NHL.

Seems perfect, only issue might be the ownership....

Could just see them wanting to avoid pegulas right now

Otherwise I don't know how you dont pick that city for Atlantic
 
Bunch of talk today from nhl people that the Europeans and players who travelled home in NA are being told to be back in their cities by mid may, with skates starting late may informally before something official june 1
 
Seems perfect, only issue might be the ownership....

Could just see them wanting to avoid pegulas right now

Otherwise I don't know how you dont pick that city for Atlantic

Agreed. Obviously, especially after the article you posted last week. Other than that, it makes perfect sense. Buffalo is 100% a hockey town. Always, always in the top 3 for ratings for playoffs and Stanley Cup, even though the Sabres have been the Knicks of the NHL for a decade. They’ve hosted the Draft Combine here for a few years running. It’s just a hockey town. It makes a ton of sense, outside of what you just mentioned.
 

Athletic did a run down, buffalo hotels seem to be holding it back

That's the tiers they listed

  • Tier 1 (Leaders): Columbus, Edmonton, Minnesota, Toronto
  • Tier 2 (Strong Possibility): Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Vegas
  • Tier 3 (Fallback): Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, St Louis, Vancouver
  • Tier 4 (No Chance): Everyone else
 

Athletic did a run down, buffalo hotels seem to be holding it back

That's the tiers they listed

  • Tier 1 (Leaders): Columbus, Edmonton, Minnesota, Toronto
  • Tier 2 (Strong Possibility): Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Vegas
  • Tier 3 (Fallback): Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, St Louis, Vancouver
  • Tier 4 (No Chance): Everyone else

I guess, if they’re going to be really picky with 4 and 5 star hotels.

It seems this is more of the issue...
But, while ice and dressing rooms wouldn’t be an issue, the state and county being in a virtual shutdown would be.

Hmmm, that’s odd. Fucking Cuomo.
 
I guess, if they’re going to be really picky with 4 and 5 star hotels.

It seems this is more of the issue...
But, while ice and dressing rooms wouldn’t be an issue, the state and county being in a virtual shutdown would be.

Hmmm, that’s odd. Fucking Cuomo.
Ya, although with the boost to the economy, they are probably booking 2 hotels fully for a month or two and would need constant catering and cleaning services, you would think a deal could be made

They have the same issue with edmonton, it's not shutdown but the province has rn banned any community events till end of june I believe, and people think the city will make a deal

But ya I'm guessing the hotels are gonna be picky haha

They have to make sure the players are happy
 
For you, the big thing is the supposed draft lotto changing this year

Talk is only 1 team pulled instead of 3, so wings could at worst pick 2, and teams could only move 4 spots up, so if anyone outside top 5 wins than wings pick 1 anyway

Lafreniere is a beast, but if you dont get him byfield is a massive upside too

Probly still 2 years away, but elite talent is gonna be there
 
For you, the big thing is the supposed draft lotto changing this year

Talk is only 1 team pulled instead of 3, so wings could at worst pick 2, and teams could only move 4 spots up, so if anyone outside top 5 wins than wings pick 1 anyway

Lafreniere is a beast, but if you dont get him byfield is a massive upside too

Probly still 2 years away, but elite talent is gonna be there
Yeah, one of my good friends has been all over this. He's a big draft guy so I knew this. I'll take either one, no doubt.
 
I want one more crack at the lottery for the Rangers.
I dont think you'd get it under proposed scenarios that lebrun or Friedman have said are talked about

I think you'd make 24 team playoff, but even if not the lotto wont be normal this year so couldn't move up
 
The Rangers are at most 3-5 good moves away from being a legitimate Cup contender for the next 5 plus years. Those moves are firing the incompetent David Quinn and replacing him with a coach that can get the most out of young talent; dump Jacob Trouba on any team dumb enough to trade for him; resign Tony DeAngelo long term; land one more high end forward prospect preferably a center.
 
I really need some hockey back as soon as possible.
I watched your beloved Rags win the Cup on NHL network this morning. They showed a replay of the final game. Then after that they played the Gretzky hat trick game in the ECF GAME 2 against Philly.
 
The Rangers are at most 3-5 good moves away from being a legitimate Cup contender for the next 5 plus years. Those moves are firing the incompetent David Quinn and replacing him with a coach that can get the most out of young talent; dump Jacob Trouba on any team dumb enough to trade for him; resign Tony DeAngelo long term; land one more high end forward prospect preferably a center.
These are the same rangers that took Karpotsev off Chicago’s hands 20+ years ago... but all jokes aside I agree with you. The rangers are close. I’d say those good moves are closer to 3 than 5 too. How did you become a Brew Crew fan?
 
Friedge says this seems to be the format league is liking now


The top four seeds (based on points percentage) in the East would be Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia. Top four in the West would be St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas.

They would receive byes through the play-in, but participate in a three-game tournament to get some action. I confess I’m not certain of all the details on if or how it would affect playoff seeding.

The rest of the playoffs would be “bracketed.” That means, in both conferences 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9.

So that would mean an Eastern Conference opening round of:

• 5. Pittsburgh vs. 12. Montreal (winner plays four seed)
• 6. Carolina vs. 11. Rangers (winner plays three seed)
• 7. Islanders vs. 10. Florida (winner plays two seed)
• 8. Toronto vs. 9. Columbus (winner plays one seed)

And a Western Conference opening round of:

• 5. Edmonton vs. 12. Chicago (winner plays four seed)
• 6. Nashville vs. 11. Arizona (winner plays three seed)
• 7. Vancouver vs. 10. Minnesota (winner plays two seed)
• 8. Calgary vs. 9. Winnipeg (winner plays one seed)

The play-in series would be a best-of-five. The rest of the playoffs would be best-of-seven.

Once again, it depends on approval from both the teams and players — which could come over the next few days.
 
Friedge says this seems to be the format league is liking now


The top four seeds (based on points percentage) in the East would be Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia. Top four in the West would be St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas.

They would receive byes through the play-in, but participate in a three-game tournament to get some action. I confess I’m not certain of all the details on if or how it would affect playoff seeding.

The rest of the playoffs would be “bracketed.” That means, in both conferences 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9.

So that would mean an Eastern Conference opening round of:

• 5. Pittsburgh vs. 12. Montreal (winner plays four seed)
• 6. Carolina vs. 11. Rangers (winner plays three seed)
• 7. Islanders vs. 10. Florida (winner plays two seed)
• 8. Toronto vs. 9. Columbus (winner plays one seed)

And a Western Conference opening round of:

• 5. Edmonton vs. 12. Chicago (winner plays four seed)
• 6. Nashville vs. 11. Arizona (winner plays three seed)
• 7. Vancouver vs. 10. Minnesota (winner plays two seed)
• 8. Calgary vs. 9. Winnipeg (winner plays one seed)

The play-in series would be a best-of-five. The rest of the playoffs would be best-of-seven.

Once again, it depends on approval from both the teams and players — which could come over the next few days.
L


F


G
 
Sounds like team player reps voting on this tonight, could be agreed to be tomorrow night

Players wanted to be a bit harder for teams further back to get in but they couldnt fully figure it out, some teams are scared, Pittsburgh, of playing a 5 game set to get in, cause they would have to go up against price
 
Can already see NBC Sports broadcast schedule with that format. All Pittsburgh, Rangers and Edmonton games, This sport has always had the best chance of coming back sans fans because a) the players have already been paid 85% of their regular salary, b) the prize they're playing for at the end holds the most significance and c) the ownership and players probably have the most trust when talking about revenue due to past battles and their hard cap. Still a ton of hurdles to settle beyond a playoff format though:

- Location - where do they play, who gets to accompany the team, are they on lockdown, what happens if you sweep a series and have a week with no games scheduled?
- TV - does local TV get broadcast rights a piece of the round of 24 games like they do the round of 16? Are they allowed to bring their own production teams? What's the revenue going to be for the extra round? Do the national networks shell out more for the extra content?
- Rosters - there are no minor leagues right now, so what do you do if there is an outbreak or just from normal injuries? Expand rosters now and keep those players stashed in the compound? Call up as needed and have a quarantine period? Every player added splits the revenue pie a little more.
- International hurdles - quarantine periods for players coming in from their homes abroad. Do you shut Canada out from hosting games or do you try to get waivers on travel restrictions
- Dividing revenue - you're basically negotiating an addendum to the CBA in all these leagues. On top of that the owners have to figure out how revenues would be divided among the franchises. Do you split the pot 30 ways or just 24? Do you stagger the split based on advancing through the rounds or is it all for one and one for all? Non playoff teams are still absorbing costs to keep their franchise operational. What happens if mid-way through 25 or 33% fan attendance becomes reasonable? What if other governors in teams that are still alive say the team can now play in the own building at 25 or 33% attendance? Are you gonna keep players stuck in a hub away from their families?

That's just a few of the questions, and this is the EASY league to plan for.
 
Location is rumored to be 1 hub in canada and 1 in the us, with vegas set to host the finals and possibly conference finals too

Not sure on tv in the states, but in canada where the major money is wont be an issue, sportsnet gets rights to all playoff games

Rosters will be likely expanded, heard a couple people mention 30ish players, this is similar to what happens in playoffs anyway when ahl season ends, called black aces

Bill daly already said travel and border closures arent expected to be an issue, I imagine they would have a waiver for once the initial quarantine is passed, many players have already returned from europe, but current plan tentatively seems to be, return to north America if needed by end of month, quarantine for 2 weeks, training camps run 2-3 weeks, season starts early july, friedge said on twitter hes hearing july 6th

They already have a set plan for playoff revenue, essentially players arent paid a lot and it's only if they advance, the tv national revenue is always split evenly so eliminated vs playing wont matter.
 
There are issues, but they will moreso be around quarantine protocols, the actual financial and logistical ones seem to all have been worked on the past few weeks to get to this point. The fact they were said to be very close on a new CBA already likely made this easier, players will probably get something in return for this, maybe Olympics, maybe something escrow related etc.
 
Are the teams going to get a month or at least a week or two to skate together?

If this happens I’d like to see the numbers on an Islanders future
 
Are the teams going to get a month or at least a week or two to skate together?

If this happens I’d like to see the numbers on an Islanders future
Think the date that's floating around to start is July 6th.
 
Are the teams going to get a month or at least a week or two to skate together?

If this happens I’d like to see the numbers on an Islanders future
Ya a ton, they are opening up the team facilities next week I believe

Also players are allowed to train at local facilities if they dont wanna travel

I.e Austin matthews if hes in arizona, doesnt need to travel to toronto if he dowsnt want, he could use coyotes facilities
 
Ya a ton, they are opening up the team facilities next week I believe

Also players are allowed to train at local facilities if they dont wanna travel

I.e Austin matthews if hes in arizona, doesnt need to travel to toronto if he dowsnt want, he could use coyotes facilities
Nice.
 
I do think AVS are head and shoulders above everybody in the west, but this is a whole new ballgame.
 
I have a ton of futures that are happy with this 24 team format... only pissed I didn't have one on the rangers (my team too)
 
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