Canadian division for 20-21 season

[Horsman1]

Lots of talk about how next season unfolds and the possibility of a Canadian Division.. is this one division of all 7 teams or... two divisions.. one east and one wast.. or.. Do they move up an American Based team to even it out at 8 teams.. and if so.. which team moves up.. and where>> Hamilton??> The Maritimes???? 

 

 

[Horsman1]

saskatoon? Quebec city?//

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

40 minutes ago, Horsman1 said:

Lots of talk about how next season unfolds and the possibility of a Canadian Division.. is this one division of all 7 teams or... two divisions.. one east and one wast.. or.. Do they move up an American Based team to even it out at 8 teams.. and if so.. which team moves up.. and where>> Hamilton??> The Maritimes???? 

 

 

If they keep a Canadian division at 7 teams then there could be 3x8 team divisions in the States, thats probably about as even as youre going to get. How many times each team plays each other depends totally on how condensed the schedule will be.  I think the bigger issue will be the financial feasibility of an entire season of bubble hockey.

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

If an American team needed to transfer over to a Canadian division it would probably be either Florida or Arizona as there would be less effect on local attendance.

[ABC923]

I doubt it will be bubble hockey. My bet is they will travel around and play, although one possibility would be to have all teams play in one location in each division, with the location rotating as needed. Players will probably be asked not to party and such, but no bubble like last time.  The only reason for a Canada division is so players don’t have to cross the border during the season, which is only a concern if teams are travelling.

[cross16]

I think it makes sense as a way to try and play the season and try and get fans into the stands. I doubt they can pull it off with teams crossing the border so there really isn't another way to play the season without creating that Canadian bubble. Travel isn't too bad as long as you manage the schedule probably.

 

won't make for the most exciting fan experience but having hockey is better than none at all. 

 

 

[sak22]

1 hour ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

If an American team needed to transfer over to a Canadian division it would probably be either Florida or Arizona as there would be less effect on local attendance.

Actually given Florida is having fans in football games now, massive crowds at college games.  If the league allowed attendance based on what ever rules were in place in each city/state/province they would likely have more in Miami as I don't see Canada at the point where they would allow larger public gatherings.

[Horsman1]

there is also the issue of players transferring up from the minor leagues so I could see Canadian division in the AHL as well

 

[Horsman1]

it was just announced that Play in the Qmjhl has been suspended until further notice

 

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

1 hour ago, sak22 said:

Actually given Florida is having fans in football games now, massive crowds at college games.  If the league allowed attendance based on what ever rules were in place in each city/state/province they would likely have more in Miami as I don't see Canada at the point where they would allow larger public gatherings.

The post was supposed to be a tongue in cheek jab at said locations attendance numbers but in all reality, for safety reasons I can't see how a non-bubble format would work. For financial reasons I can't see a bubble format working either.  

[The_People1]

I would only be for this if they throw all NHL players into a draft and the 7 Canadian teams draft their teams and we have a fun 2 month tourney just Canadian cities.

[Thebrewcrew]

Last years Battle of Alberta was so much fun, unfortunately, seeing the Oilers 10+ times will only dilute that. Think of Yankees/Redsox, Giants/Dodgers, great rivalries but they play each other way too frequently and it takes some juice out of it. 

 

 

I think the NHL would do a total realignment for the 20/21 season and it will be an entirely regional schedule for the American teams. The Minnesota's and Chicago's could be seeing a lot of Columbus and Detroit.

 

What they would do for the postseason would be fascinating since there's not really any conferences. In theory, you could see a Calgary Vegas cup final. It will be really interesting.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, Thebrewcrew said:

Last years Battle of Alberta was so much fun, unfortunately, seeing the Oilers 10+ times will only dilute that. Think of Yankees/Redsox, Giants/Dodgers, great rivalries but they play each other way too frequently and it takes some juice out of it. 

 

 

I think the NHL would do a total realignment for the 20/21 season and it will be an entirely regional schedule for the American teams. The Minnesota's and Chicago's could be seeing a lot of Columbus and Detroit.

 

What they would do for the postseason would be fascinating since there's not really any conferences. In theory, you could see a Calgary Vegas cup final. It will be really interesting.

 

I just think that the division have lead to a lot of rivalries.

CGY-VAN

CGY-EDM

SJS-ANA

TOR-BOS

TOR-MTL

TBL-MTL

WAS-PITTS

Philly-PITTS

NYR-NYI

Etc.

 

Point is that the divisions set up for some cross-border rivalries.

Restricted to a Canadian only division makes little sense except maybe to Trudeau.

Because of policy, hockey is probably going to follow baseball.

TOR plays in Rochester.

VAN plays in Seattle.

EDM plays in Billings Montana.

WPG plays in Grand Forks.

Some supposedly neutral states or cities being the home arena for Canadian teams. 

Unless this happens, I can't see any solutions that are fair that deal with crossing the border.

 

Canadian teams are gong to have to play in Canada for some part of the season.

And US teams are going to have to come to Canada.

 

 

[Horsman1]

On 10/15/2020 at 2:38 PM, The_People1 said:

I would only be for this if they throw all NHL players into a draft and the 7 Canadian teams draft their teams and we have a fun 2 month tourney just Canadian cities.

just canafian players as well??

 

[robrob74]

If the fans can’t be in the buildings in some capacity, or let’s say they can, what if the farm teams travel with the parent teams and play the other team’s farm team either before or after the NHL game? 
 

if there are fans in, maybe they can see a double header? I guess changing over a stadium would be hard to do in a pandemic, but maybe they can have different fans in the second game? Maybe it is a dumb idea.

[Sarasti]

1 hour ago, robrob74 said:

If the fans can’t be in the buildings in some capacity, or let’s say they can, what if the farm teams travel with the parent teams and play the other team’s farm team either before or after the NHL game? 
 

if there are fans in, maybe they can see a double header? I guess changing over a stadium would be hard to do in a pandemic, but maybe they can have different fans in the second game? Maybe it is a dumb idea.

 

Personally I dont think any idea could really be a dumb idea in these current times.

 

I just want to be able to see hockey live again at some point.

[jjgallow]

Would Vancouver be included?

[robrob74]

If they do a Canadian division, the AHL team should follow along and travel with the big clubs. They can have a similar schedule and play them in an early game on an NHL game day. Or play them the day before on off days. It might cost too much to televise them, but it might be cool to see the prospects play if they can do a simple televised game. 

[travel_dude]

30 minutes ago, robrob74 said:

If they do a Canadian division, the AHL team should follow along and travel with the big clubs. They can have a similar schedule and play them in an early game on an NHL game day. Or play them the day before on off days. It might cost too much to televise them, but it might be cool to see the prospects play if they can do a simple televised game. 

 

At this point, the start date for the AHL is February 5th.  That creates a big issue for any club with current roster limits.

If you can only have 23 players on your roster, the other guys that could be injury replacement sit idle.

What makes this worse is that we have a farm team in the US.

Any player on that team in the US would need 14 days isolation before being allowed to even practice.

It only hurts Canadian teams.

 

I know what you are suggesting, but I don't see it working.

There's quite a few Canadian teams that have Canadian AHL teams, but not out west.

CGY, EDM and VAN all are US based.

Manitoba and Toronto are fine.

Ottawa has Belleville, MTL has Laval.

The three teams from the west would need to fold up in those US arenas.

 

[robrob74]

17 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

At this point, the start date for the AHL is February 5th.  That creates a big issue for any club with current roster limits.

If you can only have 23 players on your roster, the other guys that could be injury replacement sit idle.

What makes this worse is that we have a farm team in the US.

Any player on that team in the US would need 14 days isolation before being allowed to even practice.

It only hurts Canadian teams.

 

I know what you are suggesting, but I don't see it working.

There's quite a few Canadian teams that have Canadian AHL teams, but not out west.

CGY, EDM and VAN all are US based.

Manitoba and Toronto are fine.

Ottawa has Belleville, MTL has Laval.

The three teams from the west would need to fold up in those US arenas.

 

 

yeah, it’s why I think they should just have the farm teams follow the big club. Just while there’s a pandemic as the two week isolation isn’t required if they stay with the Flames.

The Flames farm team plays all of the otherCanadian farm teams. 
 

Gives them a better longer look at the players too.

 

Arent the Raptors going to play in Tampa? It’s not unheard of for AHL teams to get up and go. I think it’s a reasonable solution for the Canadian teams with AHL teams in the US. I just don’t think it is smart to have taxi squad players who sit forever waiting to play. 
 

there aren’t fans in arenas yet so it makes no difference if they play in Canada. Maybe they’ll be allowed to play to fans in the States. 
 

Another solution is to choose different Canadian cities for each of the Western clubs that don’t have in Canada. Or just have the other ones get their AHL teams to follow. what about Hamilton, Markham, or other municipalities out there for now? There are arenas that can house the NHL teams that don’t have an AHL Canadian city base.
 

Maybe their jets aren’t big enough...

 

but there are enough cities in Canada to have their AHL squads play in just until the covid restrictions are over. They can’t go on if Canadian teams have to wait 14 days to isolate their call-ups. Taxi guys are going to be made up of Kylington-type players. 
 

 

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

With infection/positivity numbers getting progressively worse across the country there is always the possibility of future interprovincial travel restrictions. I would guess league people keep in touch with provincial legislators to keep aware of that possibility.

[Thebrewcrew]

 

3 hours ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

With infection/positivity numbers getting progressively worse across the country there is always the possibility of future interprovincial travel restrictions. I would guess league people keep in touch with provincial legislators to keep aware of that possibility.

 

I think the only way the NHL starts in the next 60 or so days, would be with a bubble again. 

 

You have the issue with the Canadian/provincial border, but also with State borders. the SF 49ers aren't able to play home games now, I'd imagine it being the same for the Sharks if the NHL were to start up. I do remember back in March, just before the pause, SJ was being told they couldn't play anymore home games.

 

Maybe the best solution is a hybrid bubble. The East plays for two weeks in a bubble, while the West is at home with their families and they do something like 2 week rotations in and out of the bubble.

 

Certainly, not ideal but it's likely the best way to keep everyone healthy and eliminate cancellations. MLB and NFL have had major outbreaks by trying to play their seasons as if times were normal 

[The_People1]

4 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

 

 

I think the only way the NHL starts in the next 60 or so days, would be with a bubble again. 

 

You have the issue with the Canadian/provincial border, but also with State borders. the SF 49ers aren't able to play home games now, I'd imagine it being the same for the Sharks if the NHL were to start up. I do remember back in March, just before the pause, SJ was being told they couldn't play anymore home games.

 

Maybe the best solution is a hybrid bubble. The East plays for two weeks in a bubble, while the West is at home with their families and they do something like 2 week rotations in and out of the bubble.

 

Certainly, not ideal but it's likely the best way to keep everyone healthy and eliminate cancellations. MLB and NFL have had major outbreaks by trying to play their seasons as if times were normal 

 

What cities though?  Edmonton is exploding with cases now.  Is there a safe location?  And how many games is the bigger question because it means players have to be away from home for "several months".

[The_People1]

8 hours ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

With infection/positivity numbers getting progressively worse across the country there is always the possibility of future interprovincial travel restrictions. I would guess league people keep in touch with provincial legislators to keep aware of that possibility.

 

I wonder if it's best to consider a neutral site where cases are very low, like Sweden.  I'm sure they have rinks and NHL quality facilities there.  Just adjust everyone's biological clocks to play in the night time (afternoon North America).  Maybe even throw in a game where Europe can watch on TV during their evening time and make some money that way.

 

Time for something extreme if we want to play and finish a season.

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

11 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

What cities though?  Edmonton is exploding with cases now.  Is there a safe location?  And how many games is the bigger question because it means players have to be away from home for "several months".

 

11 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

I wonder if it's best to consider a neutral site where cases are very low, like Sweden.  I'm sure they have rinks and NHL quality facilities there.  Just adjust everyone's biological clocks to play in the night time (afternoon North America).  Maybe even throw in a game where Europe can watch on TV during their evening time and make some money that way.

 

Time for something extreme if we want to play and finish a season.

With crap #s already  and with the affect of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, X-mas, and New years yet to be seen I really dont think in all reality you can start the season until March 1st. At that point you have to wonder how short of a season can you have before you just call it off until fall?