Gary Bettman did a media appearance on Friday, and as expected, he has no real answers to all the questions we can think up about this NHL season and what happens next.
Chris Johnston tweeted the highlights:
Gary Bettman tells @Sportsnet‘s Hockey Central that the NHL is doing “all sorts of modelling” about what the rest of the season might look like depending on when they’re able to resume. Mentions a range of possibilities under consideration.
I think it’s useful to look at the NBA’s letter to fans from Adam Silver now too:
Text of the first paragraph:
As you know, we have temporarily suspended our season in response to the coronavirus pandemic. We made this decision to safeguard the health and well-being of fans, players, everyone connected to our game and the general public. This hiatus will last at least 30 days and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.
At about the same time Bettman was on Sportsnet, Bob McKenzie was on Leafs Lunch, and he’s always worth listening to:
What McKenzie emphasizes and what Silver came out and said is that this is not a situation that will return to normal in two weeks. The one month from the NBA is likely wildly optimistic. But a season, in some form, can be fit into the summer months if that becomes possible. The Cup can be hoisted this year.
There are two times in the 20th and 21st century, the modern era of the Stanley Cup’s history, where it was not awarded. In 1919, because of the influenza pandemic that affected hundreds of millions of people worldwide, the playoffs were cancelled when too many players fell ill. The second time there was no cup was in the 2004-2005 lockout season. It’s too soon to say if this is the third time or not.
In the interim, players are not sure what they should be doing:
As the NHL/NHLPA work through the guidelines for this period where the league is paused, the focus is on a multi-stepped approach: What needs to happen for players to go from now (self quarantine) to informal workouts/skates to organized team activity before play can resume.
Following “self quarantine” period, the NHL is hopeful to be in a position to transition – first to re-open team facilities for players to work on conditioning, then a “training camp period” where practices are scheduled and game preparation can resume.
It is a foregone conclusion that all remaining international hockey events run by the IIHF will be cancelled, including the Men’s World Championships scheduled for May. We will get the formal announcement on that next week likely. That leaves the KHL and related leagues as still operating semi-normally in their playoffs.
Now there will be nothing to do but wait.
The NHL Scouting Combine is scheduled to be held in Buffalo at the end of May/early June. It usually falls right after the Memorial Cup, but the CHL is in suspended animation like the NHL. If leagues resume play, then a whole new schedule has to be invented. It’s impossible to guess right now when the NHL draft might be held, and what pre-draft scouting opportunities anyone will have.
If leagues do resume, they will all be inventing new regular season and/or playoff formats to fit into the time allotted, and the NHL might need to extend the season end date from June 30 to some time in the future to keep players under contract. The cap situation for this year will be thornier than next, in terms of real revenues likely falling short.
Of course, NHL players will almost certainly face significant escrow withholdings above the current rate of 14% once the business gets up and running again.
But that’s yet another problem to be solved when and if the season resumes.
Even if Adam Silver’s optimistic sounding timeline comes to pass, there won’t be hockey in March, and there won’t be hockey for most of April. Maybe May? Maybe that should be our motto for now. Maybe May.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
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