UPDATE: NHLPA votes for further negotiations on 24-team return to play format

[standinmotion]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Well since there can be no groups larger than 15 in Alberta, this rules out the Flames and Oilers unless the start date is moved til September.

Sounds like AHS is willing to play ball with the Oilers hosting the games.

[Reggie Dunlop]

If AHS tests hockey players ahead of citizens there'll be a huge outcry. We've been down this road before, albeit with not as dire circumstances.

[Jbo]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

If AHS tests hockey players ahead of citizens there'll be a huge outcry. We've been down this road before, albeit with not as dire circumstances.

Can't any Albertan that wants a test get one right now

[standinmotion]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

If AHS tests hockey players ahead of citizens there'll be a huge outcry. We've been down this road before, albeit with not as dire circumstances.

As of today, everybody in Alberta that wants to be tested can get tested. We don't have a testing capacity issue in Alberta.

Also, this is testing that we are talking about here, it's not treatment / vaccine. If a person is known to be infected one day earlier or later, it doesn't really matter, since everyone with any symptoms is asked to isolate herself anyway, regardless of being tested or not.

[Robbob]

Yeah the bar to get tested is real low. If you have a cough and no other symptoms you can still get tested. Just need to fill out the form and then they will contact you.

[Jason14h]

Fill out a form ! Bet the athletes don’t have to fill out a form

Typical

[curves2000]

The issue with testing isn't an Alberta issue for the NHL, it's a league wide issue and one for pro sports.

Let's say for arguments sake that the NHL, NBA and MLB need to have similar testing strategies . If not daily tests for all players, staff, coaches and other close contacts, than at least multiple tests per week.

What happens in these large metro areas in the US with 3 different sports leagues needing to be tested, areas that have been hit hard? MA, NY State, NJ, California, Michigan etc?

We are talking about thousands of tests a week and the situation with testing is getting worse. From various reports, the issue is now a shortage of testing kits and testing supplies that is limiting the testing capacity of various labs.

Also who will pay for this? There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered for the NHL and other leagues. If you were to write off the season as lost due to Covid , that's understandable to almost all the fans. If an outbreak happens or if you need to shut down the re-start halfway through the 3rd round or have a decision that some fans feel unfairly penalizes their team or star, than the anger can get real.

Also from a business perspective, how much of this may be worth it for all involved? Lot's of costs, headaches and concerns and not a lot of revenue coming in.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by curves2000

The issue with testing isn't an Alberta issue for the NHL, it's a league wide issue and one for pro sports.

Let's say for arguments sake that the NHL, NBA and MLB need to have similar testing strategies . If not daily tests for all players, staff, coaches and other close contacts, than at least multiple tests per week.

What happens in these large metro areas in the US with 3 different sports leagues needing to be tested, areas that have been hit hard? MA, NY State, NJ, California, Michigan etc?

We are talking about thousands of tests a week and the situation with testing is getting worse. From various reports, the issue is now a shortage of testing kits and testing supplies that is limiting the testing capacity of various labs.

Also who will pay for this? There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered for the NHL and other leagues. If you were to write off the season as lost due to Covid , that's understandable to almost all the fans. If an outbreak happens or if you need to shut down the re-start halfway through the 3rd round or have a decision that some fans feel unfairly penalizes their team or star, than the anger can get real.

Also from a business perspective, how much of this may be worth it for all involved? Lot's of costs, headaches and concerns and not a lot of revenue coming in.

Remember, in the home of privatized health care, if you have money you can get tested. If you have money you can get the anti body test, if you have money you can buy your own respirator. $200 a test times 30 people per team, $6000 is minor when there’s literally 100’s of millions at stake.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Jbo

Can't any Albertan that wants a test get one right now

As far as I know only with symptoms

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by curves2000

The issue with testing isn't an Alberta issue for the NHL, it's a league wide issue and one for pro sports.

Let's say for arguments sake that the NHL, NBA and MLB need to have similar testing strategies . If not daily tests for all players, staff, coaches and other close contacts, than at least multiple tests per week.

What happens in these large metro areas in the US with 3 different sports leagues needing to be tested, areas that have been hit hard? MA, NY State, NJ, California, Michigan etc?

We are talking about thousands of tests a week and the situation with testing is getting worse. From various reports, the issue is now a shortage of testing kits and testing supplies that is limiting the testing capacity of various labs.

Also who will pay for this? There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered for the NHL and other leagues. If you were to write off the season as lost due to Covid , that's understandable to almost all the fans. If an outbreak happens or if you need to shut down the re-start halfway through the 3rd round or have a decision that some fans feel unfairly penalizes their team or star, than the anger can get real.

Also from a business perspective, how much of this may be worth it for all involved? Lot's of costs, headaches and concerns and not a lot of revenue coming in.

Not a lot of revenue coming in? It’s the whole reason each league is looking at this. The TV money is the entire reason.

And since leagues don’t expect fans in the stands for quite some time, there is no issue going well into the summer since delaying next year plays into everyone’s interests.

[Freeway]

Here's the thing: if Alberta's public health people give the NHL an exemption, it's gonna set a massive precedent both within the province and across Canada. So they're gonna do their level best to make sure the NHL jumps through hoops, has a very good plan, and that there are contingencies and butt-covering put in place for everybody involved.


It'll be a very high bar for everyone to clear.

[Flamenspiel]

According to Trudeau there will be no exemption to quarantine rules. A good decision all around. There is absolutely no rational for any sort of exemption and most of the noise on this is coming from Jones and Staples who seem to think that the Oilers would have won the cup.

[standinmotion]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

According to Trudeau there will be no exemption to quarantine rules. A good decision all around. There is absolutely no rational for any sort of exemption and most of the noise on this is coming from Jones and Staples who seem to think that the Oilers would have won the cup.

Trudeau has no jurisdiction over Edmonton wrt guaranine rules. He does have jurisdiction over international flights though, so he can theoretically declare sports non-essential and ban travel from the US. However, if it were to happen at all, it would happen in late Jun or July, so he might relax the non-essential US travels then.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Freeway

Here's the thing: if Alberta's public health people give the NHL an exemption, it's gonna set a massive precedent both within the province and across Canada. So they're gonna do their level best to make sure the NHL jumps through hoops, has a very good plan, and that there are contingencies and butt-covering put in place for everybody involved.


It'll be a very high bar for everyone to clear.

What would be the exemption exactly? I assume these plans presume that easing of restrictions has begun and that availability of testing won’t be an issue. These games wouldn’t be starting anytime soon IMO.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Fill out a form ! Bet the athletes don’t have to fill out a form

Typical

It's a Sunday.

Why are we reaching so hard for reasons to be upset lol?

[Reggie Dunlop]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1257759570195353604

Sens "thanking" fans? Philadephia and New Jersey offering ticket refunds/credits?

Sounds like the non-playoff teams (at the very least) are all done for the regular season.

[direwolf]

I don't see how there's any way this season can be salvaged. There are just way too many unknowns at this point, especially with the s**t show going on south of the border regarding their response to the virus. It's time to call it a day and start planning for the 2020/21 season.

[FlamesAddiction]

Call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, but giving the Oilers home ice advantage throughout the playoffs just sounds like an idea to write the script for McDavid to win and produce a marketing narrative for a league in need of a feel-good story surrounding their biggest young star currently playing in the obscurity of inconsequential Edmonton.

[dino7c]

how much of an advantage is an arena with no fans?

[jayswin]

Yeah, if the US was the same as Canada I could see some hope. But the White House has literally told the covid team that they're "winding down" while they open up every state while cases are still accelerating in much of the US.

Not a chance the US doesn't get hit with a massive second wave and not a chance pro sports don't get shut down again when that wave happens.

The US has ****ed this up royally and most of their citizens don't even understand what is coming.