Lebrun saying this is a big week
I dont think January 1 is happening, maybe 5%
League and owners are basically in same position as mlb was earlier this year, they want to play a shorter season, with no fans, a 48 game season makes way more sense than 82, 72, or 60. It saves them money.
Players wont want to give up more escrow right now, since they just signed deal 6 months ago. But they know owners cant outright cancel.
Gonna hear a bunch of hot air between both sides the next few weeks, and we have a 48 game season start either late january or the week after the super bowl. They have said they wanna be done by mid July at the latest, they dont want to compete with olympics and NBC definitely doesnt want that, although like I said above they could literally end the day before, don't need s break like nba does
We will see 4 divisions, 1 all Canadian, 3 american, and then they stay in division for the first 2 rounds, and meet up for the final 4. With the hope that crowds can start to trickle in as season goes on. Although some owners are pushing for a 1 year 1-16 ranking playoffs, which could be fun, which means it wont happen.