[powderjunkie]

Daly: NHL targeting 82-games, no guarantees

This will be their public stance, but 82 seems insane unless/until it is possible to have some ticket sales. I think there's a good chance they can sell to 20-25% capacity, but we'll get a better sense of this as the NFL or others take this path.

Sounds like Jan. 1 is a lot more likely than Dec. 1 at this point, which makes sense.

My predicted format (not necessarily my preference):

Spoiler!

- 4 games against each conference opponent. 0 against the rest. Means 56gp for western teams and 60gp for the east. NHL probably does wonky scheduling to achieve equality at the expense of balance; I'd prefer a perfectly balanced schedule than equal gp, even if it's not ideal for individual statistics.
- Teams only travel to each city once (always play the same team twice in a row in their building)
- 24 team playoff; no round robin for teams with a bye this time (but bo5 series start the day after regular season ends and are as tightly scheduled as this summer was).


Alternatively, I could see them starting with a phase 1 of only intra-divisional games only, and then re-assessing the next stages accordingly. Modified 'hubs' might be an option in this scenario, but there are a lot of possible permutations to that. Recall how few details weren't publicly finalized 2-3 weeks before these summer playoffs began...
- I've seen some suggestions of a Canadian only division. interesting idea, but I don't see it. Even the NHL should be able to come up with a plan less hamfisted than MLB

This thread will be primarily NHL focused, but I think there are a lot of interesting implications for the AHL/CHL that are inseparable. It's hard to imagine either league is viable this season without ticket sales? What are the current rumors/plans?

If those leagues aren't operational:

- how do teams handle prospect development?
- how are future draft picks affected? Are we going to see a few crops of players with exceptional individual skills, but less 5v5 refinement?

Idea:

Spoiler!

A 'bubble hub' for each division where each team runs a modified taxi squad:

- can be more of a 'campus' lifestyle since these aren't established NHLers
- CHL and AHL players
- ~4 spots per team for underage players, determined via a draft (teams fill positional needs, get the opportunity to evaluate and build a relationship with prospective draft picks)
- perhaps a 4v4 format to save costs and to mitigate the physical disparities between men vs. boys? Might need some other rule modifications to ensure safety?
- 'hub' period starts 2-3 weeks after NHL season starts, and concludes a full playoff by the end of the NHL season)
- involve CHL and AHL coaches/staff to keep those operations alive