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The NHL Returns to the Ice
The National Hockey League has been very quiet about what has been going on since the stoppage. With training camps set to start on Monday, lets take a look at all of the things that the NHL, NHLPA, and the players have accomplished in the last few weeks. We will also look at the plans for the upcoming playoffs and how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) might affect the league going forward. Let’s see what The NHL Returns to the Ice looks like.
The new and improved CBA
The NHL and NHLPA have come to an agreement to improve and extend their CBA through to the 2025-26 season. This is a considerable accomplishment, as 2020 is one of the hardest economic periods that the league has faced. Through the CBA, they have come to a deal that both benefits the players and ensures the NHL will continue operations. The biggest issue with the CBA is that it freezes the salary cap at $81.5 Million, until league revenue exceeds $4.8 Billion. Many league professionals do not believe that the salary cap will increase over the duration of the current CBA. The impact of the salary freeze won’t be seen until the free agency period starts. Teams such as the St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lighting, and Toronto Maple Leafs will have to get creative to keep their groups together. This is especially true in St Louis where team captain Alex Pietrangelo becomes an unrestricted free agent.
There are two scenarios I see playing out as a result of the salary cap: 1) players take short term “team friendly” deal and hope the cap increases by the time the deal is up, 2) competition within the NHL is about to get much closer, as teams with cap space will use their leverage to pry a star player for a fraction of what it would normally cost, or charge a king’s ransom to help a team trade a bad contract. Things will be especially interesting coming into the 2021-22 season when the NHL introduces the Seattle franchise with an expansion draft. However, before any of that, we have a play-in-series and a Stanley Cup to hand out.
Return to Play; Phase Three, Training Camp
After a 142 day break, training camps are slated for to start Monday July 13th. Players that do not feel comfortable have until Monday to deliver a written message to the club to opt out. Travis Hamonic, of the Calgary Flames, is the first of the NHL to do so. Other names to keep an eye on are, Max Domi of the Montreal Canadians, Kaapo Kakko of the New York Rangers, and Luke Kunin of the Minnesota Wild. All three of these gentleman have type one diabetes, which will increase their chances of contracting COVID-19. Players will be tested entering the building as well as when they are leaving. Hopefully we see a decrease in positive testing, even though the NHL has lower numbers compared to some of the other North American sports.
As restrictions lift, some media should be allowed into the facilities. We should start hearing more about line pairings and starting goaltenders during this time. Training camp will be a quick ten day stretch as teams are slated to be in their respective hub cities by July 24th.
Return to play Phase 4; Play in Round
The play-in-series will begin in Toronto on August 1st with the New York Rangers taking on the Carolina Hurricanes. Some interesting considerations that have yet to be resolved include scenarios such as games going into triple overtime. As schedules are set to have two hours in between games in the respective hub cities, this shouldn’t cause too much of an issue. In rare circumstances it could be problematic. From a DFS prospective, special attention will have to be paid during warmups as media is not allowed to attend the pre-game skate. This means that if there is an injury or omission betters won’t find out about it until thirty minutes before the puck drops.
With all things considered, the NHL should be proud of what they have accomplished with their new CBA, as well as their Return to Play planning. It has been a quiet and slow process, but it has been well thought out and safety has been the top priority. I have been doing a lot of research on these play-in matches and cannot wait to reveal what I have come up with. Hopefully we can all make these hockey playoffs a very profitable time.
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