Not long now folks.
While the details are still murky at best, it has become clear that we are barreling towards the start of a new NHL season. It won’t be anything like we’re used to and some of the possibilities sound downright wacky but it’s happening.
Hockey is coming back. Sens hockey is coming back.
Yesterday, an anonymous twitter user posted a blurry video of Thomas Chabot skating by himself in that black 2D jersey and I’m not exaggerating when I say it was one of the most glorious things I’ve ever laid eyes on. Which probably speaks to just how long this layoff has really been.
247 days without a Sens game for those keeping track at home.
The good news is we won’t have to wait much longer.
Insiders around the NHL spent most of yesterday discussing some of the possibilities on the table for next season. It still sounds like they are focused on that January 1st start date which means in just 49 days, we could be watching an actual Ottawa Senators hockey game again.
They’ll hit the ice a lot sooner than that though.
Internally, I’ve been told that the Senators are working towards a December 7th start to Training Camp. That would be about a week earlier than everyone else. The NHL previously announced that the seven teams left out of the return to play at the end of last season would be allowed to start a little earlier than everyone else.
The actual format of the season is still a bit of a mystery.
It sounds like the Senators will start in an all-Canadian division but that there’s a possibility that could be expanded during the year.
At one point, the league was discussing a 50-game in-division schedule that would see Ottawa play eight games against Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary and nine against each of Toronto and Montreal. That likely changes if they can get clearance to travel across the border.
Hubs to start the year sounds like the plan right now but Frank Seravalli mentioned on TSN last night that there is a growing push to allow teams to play games in their own rink. In this scenario, teams would travel between Canadian cities and play two or three games at a time against the same team.
So while the league is still trying to nail down all the details, it won’t be much longer. With a January 1st start date and Camps starting in less than a month, a concrete plan has to be in place within the next few days.
It’s happening. Hockey is coming back.
