Even on Dec 1st with no plan in place, NHL remains focused on Jan 1st start

Per reports from TSN.ca, it appears as though the league has not changed its position on a target start date of January 1st, 2021 for the 2020-21 season, despite the uprising of the second wave of COVID-19 in many areas around the globe.

Status quo seems to be the modus operandi of Gary Bettman and company, though another scenario has been proposed, suggesting that it may be better to wait until after the holidays to open up training camps, which would ultimately push the season start to mid/late January.

The NHL and NHLPA continue to discuss all options to try to reach a tentative agreement on a return to play as soon as such a plan can be executed safely and the financials make sense. The latter seems to be a point of great disparity between the two sides as the players wish to have the current salary deferral deal remain intact while the league wishes to re-open discussions and increase the pre-agreed escrow rates on the players - a move which players and agents across the league are vehemently opposed to.

The length of the upcoming season is still not known, though a 48-60 game schedule is being targeted. St. Louis Blues rinkside reporter Andy Strickland believes that we are heading for a 48-game season with the start date being pushed back into February, potentially, as he reports that some NHL players have delayed plans to travel back to their respective NHL locations.

Talks of re-arranging divisions to a more regional-based setup remains up in the air as well, though it does make a lot of sense to reduce the distance of travel for teams and prevents boarder crossing issues if an all-Canadian division also becomes a reality. This idea could also have implications relating to COVID-19 exposure. Less travel means less risk.

Time will tell how this all turns out, but regardless of the outcome, I think everyone is in agreement that the goal is to return to play as soon as possible, so long as the safety of the players, personnel, coaches, officials and potentially even the fans is achievable.

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