Throughout the past few weeks, many NHL analysts and fans have speculated on the upcoming plans of the NHL for the 2020-21 season. These rumblings have increased as the NBA has announced their plans to commence their season on December 22nd. While many hockey fans have watched the NBA announce their plans and protocols for this season, fans have begun to wonder about the significance of the NBA’s starting date to the NHL season. As a result, one would assume that the NHL would announce their plans for next season. Unfortunately, this has not been the case, as the league has yet to firmly establish a start date for this season, despite commissioner Gary Bettman stating that January 1st remains their target for the season. However, as we now enter the final month of 2020, the level of urgency has certainly increased. Because we have yet to hear anything directly from the league, there has been ample speculation of strife between the players association and the league. Fans across the globe have questioned these reports indicating the irony and deja vu from a few months ago. How can the league and players association be arguing after just striking a deal months ago? In a time period where millions of people have become unemployed and have struggled financially, the last thing the league needs are reports of conflict among the league and the players. It is a terrible look for both the players and even more for the league, as they cannot afford to argue with the players in a time of financial catastrophe.
While there have been some reports that some NHL teams and owners prefer to not have a season, this can not and should not be a viable option. Despite some evidence that it would be more financially feasible to not play this season, the NHL needs to go on this year. Despite these rumors, I think both the commissioner and players know that they need to play this year. Too much is at stake for both sides. The league cannot afford to be the only professional sports league in North America to not play this year.
The conflict between the players and the league remains strictly over the money, as the players are not willing to give up more of their salaries after agreeing to a deal this past summer. However, the owners feel differently as they are fighting for an equal fifty percent salary deferral from the players, ultimately attempting to negate the financial deal this past summer. While we understand that the league is at fault for going against their word in terms of the money, the players need to understand that they cannot have these problems lurk in the years to come. Some players want to push back the financial problems to allow the younger players in the league to take care of this money situation. However, the players don’t understand that if they don’t take care of this situation this season, the salary cap might remain flat for the next seven years. In a normal season, it is fair to infer that the league and the players equally split the equity and profit. As a result, these players should get over themselves and allow for the deferral of half their salaries this year. If they agree to this, then next season their chances of normalcy financially will increase exponentially. This issue needs to be eradicated immediately and should not become apparent for the years to come. The time is now to take on the financial burden of the pandemic. Additionally, if the players don’t play this season, a year of their contracts will most likely be taken off of their salaries. As a result, contracts that were due for next season in unrestricted free agency would now be pushed to this year. In a year where many unrestricted free agent players this year remain still remain unsigned in December, adding many free agents from next year's contracts would be a disaster. If many free agent players can’t get market value this year, adding to the supply of players would increase the overall conflict and unemployment in the league.
Furthermore, the league needs to play as soon as possible. They had ample time to agree upon terms and now as we are in the midst of December, the league needs to act quickly on a deal. In our opinion, starting their season with a shortened schedule on February 1st would not be ideal. The league needs as much time as they can get, especially with a shortened season, in case they need to make up games. As seen in the NFL right now, one can infer that it would have been extremely beneficial to the NFL if they had started their season at least two weeks prior which would have lessened the worries of COVID breakouts throughout the league. Unless the NHL goes into a bubble scenario as they did in the playoffs, it is inevitable that there will be positive cases throughout the league. Consequently, the league needs to attempt to start as close to January 1st as possible to give themselves breathing room for the upcoming season. While we understand the league’s sentiment to wait as long as possible in hopes that circumstances will be different and that maybe they can even start the season with fans if they wait it out, this idea is not worth it. Allowing for more popular leagues like the NBA more time to remain relevant while the NHL sits back and does not play until February first is not beneficial for the league. Throughout this pandemic, with TV ratings down and many struggling to keep themselves occupied, sports have somewhat taken a backseat, as people have been forced to find other things to do. Therefore, the NHL needs to remain relevant and return as soon as possible, especially for the teams that have not played since March. Also, the season needs to be as long as possible to retain the integrity of the sport and eventually the playoffs. This issue will become even more prevalent if the league decides to start on February 1st. For example, having a shortened forty-two game schedule might be detrimental to the identity and integrity of the NHL.
My point being is that: the players need to take the burden of the financial terms of the pandemic today, or else these problems might never be resolved. Half of the league's revenue has disappeared and while the owners might have been wrong for negating this past deal, the players need to meet them halfway for their own benefit. While it might seem unfair, they don’t really have a choice. Additionally, the season needs to start as close to January 1st as possible, especially in the American hockey markets. While some might believe that allowing the league to play this year might be financially harmful in the short term, the long term implications of not playing trump those short term anxieties. Luckily, we remain optimistic that we will play and have a shortened 2020-21 NHL season. In addition, an even better scenario would be to merely agree to keep the status quo and not change their previous agreement regarding money. Either way, we look forward to the start of the 2020-21 season as soon as possible.
*The information on this article is up to date until 12/7/2020
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