If I was Gary Bettman, a couple of quick statements and a couple of quick strokes of the pen would get all this Covid protocol mess fixed. You could even boo me as much as you want.
The NHL would be on pause through the holidays, eyeing its return when the schedule picks up Dec. 27 after the Christmas break. There's no way I would let players go to China for the Winter Olympics, I'd cancel the All-Star Weekend in February in Las Vegas and put that off to 2023, and I'd use what was supposed to be a three-week break in February to rejigger the schedule and get lots of makeup games in.
Done. Easy.
Of course, nothing is ever simple.
The virus, and particularly the Omicron variant, isn't going away in 10 days. So what's the point to pause the entire league? There's actually lots of reasons.
Alex Ovechkin tied Dave Andreychuk's all-time record with his 274th career power-play goal.
Right now, it seems like the NHL is taking a team-by-team approach and it's hard to see the consistency, especially as the number of players on the Covid list heads toward 100. Some teams play, some are postponed and hey Colorado, do you want to play or sit? Avalanche players were reportedly given a choice Thursday in Nashville and opted to play even though reinforcements were too far away in the AHL to get to the game on time.
This all sounds like a silly game of Whack an Outbreak, plugging one hole only to see another open up. And you would assume the league is really looking at what has happened in Calgary, where a group of 30 that includes several support staff members have been affected. Enough of this case-by-case stuff. I still can't figure out why San Jose was forced to play when the Sabres were there last month; I know the Sabres were extremely nervous about that game going on.
The NHL is tightening its protocols, with an additional set of guidelines announced Saturday in conjunction with the NHLPA that said its goals were to prevent contraction of the disease and promote early detection to avoid team spread.
Masks are required at all times and the recommendation is N95 or surgical masks and not cloth. Most striking was a reminder that was in bold italic and underlined that federal law requires passengers to mask up on the charter flights.
"We have heard some concerns expressed by the charter airline carriers regarding Clubs’ non-compliance with this requirement and ask for your strict adherence to it," the memo said. Sure seems like this has been a major area of concern.
Trips to bars and restaurants are being severely limited. Team holiday parties are canceled and the league wants players to stay home for the holidays and away from large group gatherings.
"Holiday celebrations, which typically involve eating and drinking while unmasked, raise significant risks and should be limited to the greatest extent possible," the memo reads. "All individuals should limit both the number of people and the number of different households to which they are exposed."
A few days off can help clear up some of the positives we're seeing, the way things are reportedly leveling off in Carolina. Calgary, Colorado and Florida are paused. Outbreaks are growing with Boston and Toronto, which is 2,500 miles from home in Vancouver. Nashville is playing shorthanded and its coaching staff is out, too, with the group from AHL Milwaukee taking over.
A pause can help the league work with Canadian officials to get a better handle on testing results, which are lagging severely when teams cross the border. And the holiday break ahead gives the league some leeway as well.
Remember, unlike the NBA, there are no games as per the CBA on Dec. 24, 25 and 26. You have three built-in days where you're not losing any revenue. The league should add to them and use those to their advantage.
The signs, of course, are ominous. Case counts are mushrooming. You're hearing murmurs of a Trump-like "slow the testing down" call from some players and teams but that's a head-in-the-sand approach. You need to know which players and coaches are infectious. Not testing solves nothing.
Canadian officials taking the lead on ending large gatherings for sporting events is another huge problem. The province of Quebec ordered Bell Centre doors shut in Montreal for Thursday's Canadiens-Flyers game, and the NHL and Habs jointly postponed Saturday's game against Boston, in part because of the Bruins' Covid issues and in part to push the contest further down the line to perhaps be made up when fans have returned.
Ontario ordered capacity limited to half, so that has major impacts for the full houses of Scotiabank Arena that watch the Toronto Maple Leafs and less impact for the Ottawa Senators. British Columbia is doing likewise so the streaking Vancouver Canucks won't have as many folks in Rogers Arena. Seems like a matter of time before we see similar decrees from Manitoba (Winnipeg) and Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton).
Ontario is even saying concessions sales should be eliminated as a way to force fans to keep their masks on at all times. No beer at a Leafs game? Good luck.
Ticket sales and concessions, of course, are huge chunks of revenue for owners. And keep in mind that the CBA's 50-50 split of Hockey Related Revenue means players have a stake in wanting fans in the stands for more than just atmosphere. Both sides are going to be very touchy about a sudden drop in HRR going forward just as the game was building momentum to overcome the shortening of the last two seasons.
Border restrictions are tightening, too. Last season, remember, the North (Canadian) Division was essentially its own league of teams only in Canada. The 2021-22 schedule, of course, is back to normal with fully intertwined trips to and from Canada and risks of 14-day quarantines if you test positive. The Sabres were holding their collective breath nobody popped a positive in Winnipeg, lest they get stuck there through Christmas.
Teams are starting to go to Canada on the day of the game to maximize time in the U.S and get their daily test results here before they leave. Let's see if and when we have an American team stand up and say they're not going over the border. Or what if Canada imposes another shutdown. What does the league do then?
A full pause can admittedly make it difficult to restart, especially if caseloads keep going up like we fear will happen with Omicron. Makeup games are much more difficult, too, because you have fans and ticketing involved, unlike last season.
Teams were instructed to keep February dates in their arenas opened, lest the Olympic break was shortened or canceled altogether. Some complied and some didn't. The Sabres, for instance, have some Fridays and Saturdays tied up with Bandits games and concerts but have a full load of available weekdays in February to plan. Teams who share buildings with NBA clubs may not.
The season started so well. In October, it looked like an 82-game joyride. Things have disintegrated quickly. The NHL needs to take a breath to try to regain some control. You can't do that by shutting down just a couple of teams.
