The waiting game is almost over.
While there has still been no official announcement from the league and the Board of Governors still have to approve the plan, it does sound like we are getting dangerously close to the start of a new NHL season.
Earlier this week, it became pretty clear that there was progress being made. As soon as the NHL and NHLPA agreed to put their CBA-related differences on the back-burner, the pieces started to fall into place pretty quickly.
January 13th start date.
No preseason games.
56-game regular season.
Temporary division realignment including an all-Canadian division.
Players returning to their home cities to begin the quarantine process.
Details are still being ironed out as we speak but it’s certainly going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the NHL. It’s going to be strange. It’s going to be messy. It’s going to be imperfect at almost every step along the way.
But it’s going to be NHL hockey.
Eugene Melnyk and Anthony LeBlanc spoke to the media yesterday as part of an announcement involving the Belleville Senators and both seemed to feel pretty good about where things currently stand.
While there was an update provided to the NHL’s Board of Governor’s yesterday, it sounds like they won’t officially vote on a plan until next week. And maybe the end of next week.
Tick, tock.
Honestly, the details we’ve heard to this point are the easy part. Agreeing on a high-level format for the season was a big step obviously but there are still endless logistics that need to be worked out and they all come back to the idea of making sure this return to play can be done safely and in line with local public health guidance. That…won’t be easy.
From Ottawa’s perspective, it doesn’t sound like they are planning to have any fans in the rink this season but as we’ve seen with other leagues, that could change depending on public health guidance.
What we do know, or mostly know anyway, is that in about one month’s time, we’ll be sitting down to watch the Ottawa Senators play a hockey game.
Imagine that.
-Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators announced that they have reached an agreement with the City of Belleville to adjust the terms of their current lease agreement. It ultimately means that the Belleville Senators save about $640k while also extending the team’s lease until June 2027. This gives the BSens some temporary financial relief from a mostly lost season on the revenue front but also ensures that the team will stay in Belleville a little longer. Embedded in that announcement was news that the AHL working on their plans for a new season. Latest on that front includes a divisional 44-game season starting sometime in early February.
-Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for the positive feedback on the latest episode of The SensChirp Podcast. I have been at this SensChirp thing for a long, long time and there have been days in the last year or so when I wasn’t really sure if I could it keep going. But the kind words so many of you took the time to share in the last couple days have been a good reminder why this weird site still exists. And the good news is, this podcasting thing has reminded me that I’m pretty lucky to have this platform and to have an opportunity to do something that I dreamed of doing when I was younger. Now, let’s see if we can get this dumb podcast to number one.
