The 2019-2020 NHL regular season is one the Detroit Red Wings and their fans would rather just forget as soon as possible.
But according to a report from Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic, the regular season may not be over quite yet, despite COVID-19 putting things on hold for the foreseeable future.
Lebrun is reporting that the NHL favors a 2019-2020 resumption format that includes regular season games and not just the playoffs like many assumed would happen.
From The Athletic:
Before anyone gets too attached to any of the varied scenarios and formats being bandied about in the event the NHL does find a way to resume the 2019-20 season, understand a rather important fact: the NHL would much rather play some regular season games before heading to the playoffs, if time permits.
“We understand that with what will obviously be a lengthy break between games, players are going to want to have an ability to re-acclimatize themselves to NHL competition before having to play games that could end their seasons quickly,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic via email Thursday.
“I’m sure our managers feel the same way. We get it and we will certainly go to great lengths to accommodate those concerns.”
“We’re still too early in this process to speculate and make concrete assertions, and we are trying to keep an open mind to all options,” NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider said Thursday. “We are now working together with the league to come up with viable solutions to address a wide array of issues we will be dealing with. The health and safety of our players, families and fans are No. 1 on our list in any scenario we would consider.”
Nation, do you think the NHL should try to play some regular season games before starting the playoffs?
In my opinion, it is way too early to make a decision one way or the other as we really do not know when it will be safe to resume sporting events.
–Quotes via Pierre Lebrun, The Athletic– LINK
