Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has been busy during the 2020 offseason, selecting Swedish forward Lucas Raymond with the 4th overall Draft selection, as well as bringing aboard several new faces via free agency.
But will there ultimately be a 2020-21 season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic? According to Yzerman, he’s keeping his fingers crossed.
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“I’m very optimistic,” Yzerman said this week. “I’m hopeful. I don’t really have any control over it. The league can only control so much, as well. I think the Players Association and the league, the cooperation from both sides has been fantastic. It’s my understanding they’re working together now to put a plan in place.”
“Ultimately we’re restricted by international governments — the Canada-US border —local, state governments,” Yzerman said. “Right now it looks like we’ll be able to come up with some kind of plan, but I don’t know specifically what that is.”
Both Major League Baseball and the National Football League as well as the NCAA have had to postpone or outright cancel games due to outbreaks of the illness. Yzerman is hoping the National Hockey League won’t have to experience a delay similar to those.
“And then I kind of keep my fingers crossed that things don’t go sideways again and we are not able to play. I’m optimistic we will come up with something that works, and we’re just kind of waiting for any guidance from the league as to what the plan will be.”
Of course, a season being played would be contingent on the responsibility of the players and team personnel to adhere to all safety guidelines that would surely be put in place. The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs that took place in two “bubble” locations went off mostly without a hitch thanks to the adherence of all team personnel to the measures put in place by the League.
“The guys who were conscientious and took care of themselves, they didn’t miss a beat,” Yzerman said. “Maybe it took a week or two to get going, but then they didn’t miss a beat. And some of the guys that weren’t conscientious or weren’t focused, they struggled.
“I’m hopeful that our guys are all conscientious and motivated and self-disciplined. I believe they are.”
– – Quotes via Helen St. James of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
