Canadian division for 20-21 season

[travel_dude]

On 11/28/2020 at 11:15 AM, robrob74 said:

 

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. 
 

 

 

17 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 

 

Well, if the thought was to move CGY's and EDM's AHL teams to the respective cities, remember that they both also have WHL teams to fit.

The cost to move to CGY and EDM would be cost prohibative.

That is not to say that they couldn't move to another city.

Where though?

Red Deer?

Similar COVID issues as CGY and EDM.

Manitoba is out probably for the near to distant future.

Toronto and Montreal are probably no better off than CGY or EDM.

 

The logical solution would be two fold.

One is to have a taxi squad.

They practice with the team.

Consists of one goalie, 2 D-men, and 3 forwards.

The salaries are not applied to the cap.

They practice with the team.

They get their AHL pay unless playing NHL.

 

The 2nd is the AHL teams play in the US.  The teams would need to play in cities allowed to under US and local rules.

California may be out, but we will see later.

There is no Canadian AHL teams playing at home. 

Logistically, the AHL faces more challenges than the NHL.

 

[sak22]

An older article, but we should be putting this bubble hockey idea to rest Shortened 2021 NHL season may feature all-Canadian Division, says Vegas owner Bill Foley | Edmonton Journal

Quote

The owner was forthright about the uncertainties that teams are facing.

• “There’s so much unknown. We don’t know when we’re going to play, if we’re going to play. I know the commissioner is dedicated to having a season and awarding the Stanley Cup, but we can’t play in bubbles. It’s impossible. We can’t afford it…
  “If we aren’t playing in front of fans, I don’t know how a lot of teams can make it, including us. We’re going to have to make a serious financial commitment to fund the team without playing in front of fans.I believe Gary Bettman is not going to be having us fly all around and play in empty arenas. It’s going to be another plan.
• “NHL is a game day activity. If you don’t have game day revenue you don’t survive… Right now in Vegas, if you have more than 2,500 seats you can put 10% in. That’s not enough. 10% of 18,000 is 1,800, we can’t make it on that.
  “Everyone’s very nervous. We all thought that we’d probably be out of COVID by now, and we would have fans in the arena. So I think we’ve got to see what we can accomplish with partial fans. Forty percent. Fifty percent. Can we get that many people into the arena and have it be done safely? Can they all get tested with a nasal swab the day of the game?”

When the last season ended I was about 75-25 that a 20-21 season would happen.  With every passing day without a plan for the next season it's dropping, at this point I'd say I'm 40-60.  

[The_People1]

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

 

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?

 

If it's something gimmicky like Canadian teams only then I'd rather we just cancel the entire season and come back in Fall after everyone is vaccinated.

 

I want to see the full league.  In a perfect world, they all go into two bubbles again and each Conference plays their own.  Start in January.  Maybe 35 to 40 games.  And then start playoffs in April.

[CalgarySTL]

2 hours ago, The_People1 said:

 

If it's something gimmicky like Canadian teams only then I'd rather we just cancel the entire season and come back in Fall after everyone is vaccinated.

 

I want to see the full league.  In a perfect world, they all go into two bubbles again and each Conference plays their own.  Start in January.  Maybe 35 to 40 games.  And then start playoffs in April.

Or... we can all pull our heads out of our arses and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Stop watching CBC, global, CTV, etc. They are lying about the rona virus being as dangerous as it is. If you didn't know already, Turdeau pays CBC $1.5 BILLION per year and the rest of the media piggies split another $600 MILLION between them out of the taxpayer trough. You know who pays their media to lie to the people... countries like Communist China. It's called propaganda.

They are pushing a BS narrative. Do yourself a favor and look into the Provincial, Federal death numbers yourself! Don't use google, facebook, twitter, youtube, etc. They censor any evidence proving it's a scam and de-platform people. There was no more people dying over this last year, than there was in years previous. The flu numbers have disappeared... ok so, they're just adding flu numbers into "covid". There was a massive drop of people dying from heart disease... gee, i wonder where those numbers were added into. It's something that has a 99.9% overall survival rate. Unless you're over 80 (which is when most people die anyway) or have 2 to 3 underlying issues, you don't have much to worry about.  The numbers DO NOT justify all this stupidity.

The corrupt politicians that are putting restrictions in place are NOT afraid of rona. They keep flying everywhere, going to parties with their buds, playing hockey... it's bullSatoshi Nakamoto! I don't care if you boot me from this board. I'm sick of this ridiculous garbage. Time for people to put on their critical thinking caps & open their eyes. Say NO to their "new normal".... they've already admitted it'll never end. ps. you'd be out of your damn mind to accept any injection pushed on us from our corrupt gov't. 

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

1 hour ago, CalgarySTL said:

Or... we can all pull our heads out of our arses and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Stop watching CBC, global, CTV, etc. They are lying about the rona virus being as dangerous as it is. If you didn't know already, Turdeau pays CBC $1.5 BILLION per year and the rest of the media piggies split another $600 MILLION between them out of the taxpayer trough. You know who pays their media to lie to the people... countries like Communist China. It's called propaganda.

They are pushing a BS narrative. Do yourself a favor and look into the Provincial, Federal death numbers yourself! Don't use google, facebook, twitter, youtube, etc. They censor any evidence proving it's a scam and de-platform people. There was no more people dying over this last year, than there was in years previous. The flu numbers have disappeared... ok so, they're just adding flu numbers into "covid". There was a massive drop of people dying from heart disease... gee, i wonder where those numbers were added into. It's something that has a 99.9% overall survival rate. Unless you're over 80 (which is when most people die anyway) or have 2 to 3 underlying issues, you don't have much to worry about.  The numbers DO NOT justify all this stupidity.

The corrupt politicians that are putting restrictions in place are NOT afraid of rona. They keep flying everywhere, going to parties with their buds, playing hockey... it's bullSatoshi Nakamoto! I don't care if you boot me from this board. I'm sick of this ridiculous garbage. Time for people to put on their critical thinking caps & open their eyes. Say NO to their "new normal".... they've already admitted it'll never end. ps. you'd be out of your damn mind to accept any injection pushed on us from our corrupt gov't. 

I think theres another page for non-hockey related political ramblings. Probably best to keep it there.

[The_People1]

5 hours ago, CalgarySTL said:

Or... we can all pull our heads out of our arses and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Stop watching CBC, global, CTV, etc. They are lying about the rona virus being as dangerous as it is. If you didn't know already, Turdeau pays CBC $1.5 BILLION per year and the rest of the media piggies split another $600 MILLION between them out of the taxpayer trough. You know who pays their media to lie to the people... countries like Communist China. It's called propaganda.

They are pushing a BS narrative. Do yourself a favor and look into the Provincial, Federal death numbers yourself! Don't use google, facebook, twitter, youtube, etc. They censor any evidence proving it's a scam and de-platform people. There was no more people dying over this last year, than there was in years previous. The flu numbers have disappeared... ok so, they're just adding flu numbers into "covid". There was a massive drop of people dying from heart disease... gee, i wonder where those numbers were added into. It's something that has a 99.9% overall survival rate. Unless you're over 80 (which is when most people die anyway) or have 2 to 3 underlying issues, you don't have much to worry about.  The numbers DO NOT justify all this stupidity.

The corrupt politicians that are putting restrictions in place are NOT afraid of rona. They keep flying everywhere, going to parties with their buds, playing hockey... it's bullSatoshi Nakamoto! I don't care if you boot me from this board. I'm sick of this ridiculous garbage. Time for people to put on their critical thinking caps & open their eyes. Say NO to their "new normal".... they've already admitted it'll never end. ps. you'd be out of your damn mind to accept any injection pushed on us from our corrupt gov't. 

 

Please continue here sir,

 

 

 

[ABC923]

So who would likely be the powerhouses in the division?

As I see it, the leafs are probably at the top, followed by the oilers (*spit*). The bottom is obviously Ottawa, but I find most of the teams in the middle to be tough to predict, but I'll try anyway!

1. Leafs: Lots of offense, improved their d-core a bit, depth is still a question, although Thorton might help.

2. Oilers: Greatly improved forward depth, goaltending will remain average, defense is slightly weaker.  They were the top western Canadian team last season in the regular season, don't see that changing.

3. Flames: Slightly improved both goaltending and depth forwards, rolling with a more questionable defense (but not by that much).  We're a bubble team again, but with Ward in from the start maybe they can surprise.

4. Vancouver: Made a solid pick up on schmidt, but otherwise they are worse off.  Goaltending is worse (depends on if Holtby can rebound and Demko can find consistency), lost Toffoli, didn't add much overall.  Things could get worse next offseason with the cap.

5. Canadiens: Not too many changes, but made a solid pick-up in Toffoli and got a back-up goalie.  Overpaid for Anderson in a big way, but must be betting on a return to form.  If he does, I think 3rd or 4th is possible.  Could easily slide though depending on Price.

6. Jets: They added Stastny.  That's about it, and key guys like Little might miss the season.  Defense sucks, so they are counting on offense and goaltending to pull them through.

7. Ottawa: Lots of promise, but not ready just yet.

 

Overall, aside from Toronto and Edmonton (and Ottawa at the bottom), I think it's a bit of a crapshoot.  I could see the Jets squeaking in, or the flames just missing.  It's a competitive division.

[travel_dude]

15 minutes ago, ABC923 said:

So who would likely be the powerhouses in the division?

As I see it, the leafs are probably at the top, followed by the oilers (*spit*). The bottom is obviously Ottawa, but I find most of the teams in the middle to be tough to predict, but I'll try anyway!

1. Leafs: Lots of offense, improved their d-core a bit, depth is still a question, although Thorton might help.

2. Oilers: Greatly improved forward depth, goaltending will remain average, defense is slightly weaker.  They were the top western Canadian team last season in the regular season, don't see that changing.

3. Flames: Slightly improved both goaltending and depth forwards, rolling with a more questionable defense (but not by that much).  We're a bubble team again, but with Ward in from the start maybe they can surprise.

4. Vancouver: Made a solid pick up on schmidt, but otherwise they are worse off.  Goaltending is worse (depends on if Holtby can rebound and Demko can find consistency), lost Toffoli, didn't add much overall.  Things could get worse next offseason with the cap.

5. Canadiens: Not too many changes, but made a solid pick-up in Toffoli and got a back-up goalie.  Overpaid for Anderson in a big way, but must be betting on a return to form.  If he does, I think 3rd or 4th is possible.  Could easily slide though depending on Price.

6. Jets: They added Stastny.  That's about it, and key guys like Little might miss the season.  Defense sucks, so they are counting on offense and goaltending to pull them through.

7. Ottawa: Lots of promise, but not ready just yet.

 

Overall, aside from Toronto and Edmonton (and Ottawa at the bottom), I think it's a bit of a crapshoot.  I could see the Jets squeaking in, or the flames just missing.  It's a competitive division.

 

I'm just not bying the hype with EDM.  Last year they should have ridden the top NHL scorers and top PP and 2n PK to higher heights.

Goaltending, sloppy defense and mostly one dimensional offense let them down.

Their top 2 were minus players.

They have at most 3 good to great players.

And players who ride coattails.

Defense is worse subtracting Klefbom.

 

They had a goalie who despite his advanced years made the team believe they could win games.

And he stunk out the joint in as many games.

Their biggest improvements are a full year of Ennis, another fading star in Turris, and Kahun.

Oh, and a NHL player that went to the Finnish league for a break from small ice.

Kahun could be the 2nd coming of Rieder or a new threat.

It's anyine's guess.

 

Toronto seems to struggle aganst half of the teams.

WPG is tsruggling to keep players and ice a NHL defense.

MTL added a bit and play an uptempo game.

VAN could drop unless Hotlby/Demko are unworldly.

OTT is Ottawa.

[robrob74]

23 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

Sorry to hear that.  We should probably restrict the discussion to Canadian division and use the suggested forum in General Discussions for COVID.

This discussion can get heated quickly, so I would prefer we don't respond to inflammatory posts.   

 

thank you! And yes, it’s probably a good idea...

[CalgarySTL]

23 hours ago, robrob74 said:

 

I had a friend who just died of Covid last week. He was 40 and had a few other minor health problems but nothing that would have killed him until he was past his 70s. He was in decent shape, and exercised regularly. He died two days after he got his negative test results. 

If you're going to delete my post, delete robrob's too. 15 years ago, i had co-worker who went home sick one afternoon. He thought he had the flu. He died a couple days later from gallbladder cancer.  Just because a seemingly healthy person dies out of nowhere, doesn't automatically mean it's "covid". PCR tests are 90% false positive (as per US CDC & other health agencies)... that = scam.

[travel_dude]

54 minutes ago, CalgarySTL said:

If you're going to delete my post, delete robrob's too. 15 years ago, i had co-worker who went home sick one afternoon. He thought he had the flu. He died a couple days later from gallbladder cancer.  Just because a seemingly healthy person dies out of nowhere, doesn't automatically mean it's "covid". PCR tests are 90% false positive (as per US CDC & other health agencies)... that = scam.

 

There's no good solution with off-topic posts.

The People initially responded by pointing to a place where this belongs.

 

 

I understand what you are saying, but the back and forth has to move out of here.

Impact of COVID to NHL hockey and the Canadian division is all we should be talking about here.

That's still pretty broad a topic, but let's keep the other stuff in the other thread, okay?

 

 

 

 

[bosn111]

I apologize in advance for biting on to the inflammatory post, but I must combat disinformation as it is honestly part of my job.

Firstly, CalgarySTL, the only person talking about deleting your post is you, it is still there. 

 

Second, if you start by saying “this will likely get deleted” you realize what your saying is controversial at best, blatantly wrong at worst so you probably shouldn’t post it which you already realize by starting off your post in that way.

 

Third, you were asked to take this discussion elsewhere as it is not relevant to the discussion thread. Others tried to bring the topic back on track and you chose to hijack it again. Therefore one must conclude that you are either a: ignorant, b: a troll.

 

Fourth, listening to talking heads on the internet does not equate to them telling the truth. This is evident with many so called hockey insiders who claim a trade is imminent and they were completely wrong. The same is with your apparent sources. US CDC does not in fact claim 90% false positives, I actually looked at their site. I also looked at multiple other health sites including the US National Library of Medicine/ National institute of Health, Harvard Medicine and MIT where the highest I found was 4% false infectious positives while total false positives ranged from 0.5% to 0.8%. Whereas false negatives were between 25 and 33%. A far cry from your claims. The false positives are a concern for the Antigen tests, not the PCR tests. The Canadian CDC does not use antigen tests as they only indicate if you may have had it in the past, not ongoing. The PCR tests look at the DNA of the virus and therefore it is not confused with other possibilities. The only false positives come from possible cross contamination in a lab which is minimal at worst.

 

Finally let us get back once again to the discussion thread about a possible Canadian division and the impact this could have on AHL teams. 
 

I am not sure about a taxi squad system. This causes other issues around cost, transportation and all that. Issues would arise where unless you have a significant number, you could need all of them due to injury and/or illness and be stuck with not having a taxi squad anymore. Also a taxi squad could be seen as cap circumvention, such as putting Lucic on the TS so he doesn’t count against the cap.

 

 I like the idea of AHL teams travelling with their parent club. This provides for better learning opportunities for the farmhands, keeps track of the players better and eliminates the need for isolation of players when they get called up. Most major cities have multiple arenas that could be used by AHL and junior teams, especially if no, or limited, fans in attendance.

 

As to which teams are the best in Canada, on paper I would say Toronto but we have seen their lack of success over the past few years and they haven’t really filled their holes.

 

Calgary hasn’t fixed all their holes but they added to defensive play with Markstrom and Tanev. They lost little offence but didn’t really add either. It really depends if they show up but should be near the top.

 

Edmonton has McDavid and Draisital so should not be overlooked. That said, they are aging poorly in net, lacking in D and so if they can’t overpower other teams with offence, they won’t go anywhere fast.

 

Vancouver is maturing but can they overcome the loss of Markstrom, Tanev and Toffoli? I think some players step up their game but not ready to really contend YET. In 3-4 years I think they will be knocking on the door.

 

Winnipeg really depends on injuries and Laine. Also can goaltending stay great.

 

Montreal is a question mark as well with no answer. Not sure they added enough to really make any noise this coming season.

 

Ottawa.... do I need to say much more than a couple good players does not a competitor make.

 

 I guess we will see how it all rolls out. 

[The_People1]

4 hours ago, CalgarySTL said:

If you're going to delete my post, delete robrob's too. 15 years ago, i had co-worker who went home sick one afternoon. He thought he had the flu. He died a couple days later from gallbladder cancer.  Just because a seemingly healthy person dies out of nowhere, doesn't automatically mean it's "covid". PCR tests are 90% false positive (as per US CDC & other health agencies)... that = scam.

 

Please continue here.  We will remove further posts.  Thanks,

 

http://fans.flames.nhl.com/community/topic/23111-why-covid-19-is-your-fault/

[travel_dude]

42 minutes ago, ABC923 said:

should clarify with my rankings (such as oilers being number 2), that this is how I would expect the regular season to play out.  In general, I think the oil have some of the same issues we do, in that they aren't really built for the post season.  They had a solid regular season last year, and I think they are a much improved team up front.  Losing Klefbom hurts for sure, so they are probably slightly softer on the back end, and goaltending should remain the same.  Expect Smith to not play that much; he had bad numbers over all last season, while Kosk is pretty decent (if nothing special).

 

Toronto is again kind of similar.  Built for huge in season success, but unable to get it together in the playoffs.  Now that I think about it, if there is a Canadian division, would round one of the playoffs be held within the division? You could have two teams that routinely fall on their face in the playoffs lining up against each other (CGY, TOR, EDM, maybe WPG if they make it).  Could be just what the doctor ordered to get one of them to raise their game!

 

Just looking at CDN teams versus CDN teams, We have done pretty well, and EDM is about 50/50.

EDM has made changes that could be for the better, but I'm not convinced.

They have 2 players they hope will have turnaround season; Turris and Pooly.

Hope.  Both were less than stellar their last season played.

Ennis played a few games and was injured.

Kahun is one of those players you expect to have a good season.

But is it any different than Rieder?

Looked good until he went to EDM.

 

I don't know how I would rank the teams.

Toronto was the best performer last year.

EDM was okay, but really no better than CGY.

And we were slumping.

[ABC923]

Fair enough, I have not really looked at how the teams match up to each other. I feel a bit better about our odds as the discussion goes on, but I do think EDM will be a force to contend with.  Turris should do well in a 3rd line role, Pooly has been pretty good lately overseas and should be an okay contributor.  I like Kahun, I think he's a better option than Reider ever was, and Ennis is good depth.  None of these guys are gamebreakers, but better than the dreck they called depth scoring last season.

[Horsman1]

On 12/2/2020 at 3:45 PM, travel_dude said:

 

There's no good solution with off-topic posts.

The People initially responded by pointing to a place where this belongs.

 

 

I understand what you are saying, but the back and forth has to move out of here.

Impact of COVID to NHL hockey and the Canadian division is all we should be talking about here.

That's still pretty broad a topic, but let's keep the other stuff in the other thread, okay?

 

 

 

 

thanks traveldude.. I didn't start this to discuss covid or trump or the canadian/american dollar value.. just a hockey discussion on the merits of a canadian only division.. we've often talked about a Canadian only division even before today's current issues

 

[Thebrewcrew]

If the league goes with 56 games, you'd see each team 9 times... roughly.

 

Some of my thoughts on the other Canadian teams

 

TOR

- Probably the favorite. They have the most skill in their top 6 among Canadian teams.

- Brodie is a good addition, but I still wonder about their ability to defend.

 

MTL

- The darling of the offseason. Addressed some organizational needs, after exceeding expectations in the return to play.

- I'm not as high on MTL as most. They played 3 good weeks of summer hockey in an unprecedented circumstance. They were % points away from sitting at home while BUF would have been in the RTP. I think they are somewhere in the middle, not as good as they showed in August, but not as bad as they were for 70 games in 19/20.

 

EDM

- The loss of Klefbom will hurt. I still don't think they defend very well. Barrie will help the league's top PP, but will be a liability defensively. 

- I expect some regression from Koskinen, his numbers were helped significantly by a hot streak prior to the pause. 

- The Turris signing is fine, it's a contract that will be hard to underperform. I still don't love their depth though. 

- I expect 97 and 29 to have them in the mix again.

 

VAN

- Schmidt is a huge upgrade on Tanev IMO, nice work from Benning.

- The departure of Markstrom is massive, he was their MVP. Prior to the pause, Markstrom got hurt and the #1 job was thrust upon Demko. It was too much for him, if the season had played out, it wasn't looking good for VAN. I think Holtby is a fine goalie, but no longer one that will mask deficiencies in his team.

 

WPG

- They've really only added Stastny. This is a team with a great offence, but struggles to defend. If Hellebuyck isn't all-world, they will really struggle. I'm not sure they were going to qualify for the playoffs if 19/20 had played out.

 

OTT

- Most will look at this as the "free square on the bingo card", it won't be the case. Lots of young, hungry talent. They are approaching the stage of the rebuild where progression is expected, and I think we will see some. My bold prediction would be OTT does not finish last in the Canadian division. I think teams will take them lightly and as a result they will stack some wins. 

[The_People1]

If there's a Canadian Division then is the idea to have a US Division too?  Games need to balance out then.

[LouCifer]

While most will love a Canadian Division, I wonder what impact - if any - time zones will be for that “division”. Are there any advantages or disadvantages for any of the Canadian teams? I’d guess Toronto and Montreal and Ottawa will be a little more comfortable as they’re all in the same timezone. We’re in the same timezone as Edm. Do Vancouver and Winnipeg get the butt-end of the stick in this setup? Is it really any different than any other season? What say you?

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

1 hour ago, The_People1 said:

If there's a Canadian Division then is the idea to have a US Division too?  Games need to balance out then.

Most likely 3 American division with 8 teams per. To keep it fair with time zone travel they could be split by latitude. (vaguely)

- Sharks, Avs, Wild, Hawks, Wings, Penguins, Sabres, Bruins.

- Kings, Ducks, Blues, BJs, Flyers, Isles, Rags, Devils.

- Knights Yotes, Stars, Preds, Bolts, Panthers, Caps, Canes.

 

Not perfect but as per usual the western teams get shafted.

 

[robrob74]

58 minutes ago, lou44291 said:

While most will love a Canadian Division, I wonder what impact - if any - time zones will be for that “division”. Are there any advantages or disadvantages for any of the Canadian teams? I’d guess Toronto and Montreal and Ottawa will be a little more comfortable as they’re all in the same timezone. We’re in the same timezone as Edm. Do Vancouver and Winnipeg get the butt-end of the stick in this setup? Is it really any different than any other season? What say you?

 

i think the difference for Edm, Cgy and Van aren’t too bad. It’s only an hour. It’s a difference for sure. Is it the same for Wpg, Mtl, Ott and Tor? Wpg might be in a more favourable position aside from playing in Van. I think the 2-3 hour difference is where the challenge is. Getting used to playing at certain times makes it tough for pregame rituals.

[Thebrewcrew]

1 hour ago, lou44291 said:

While most will love a Canadian Division, I wonder what impact - if any - time zones will be for that “division”. Are there any advantages or disadvantages for any of the Canadian teams? I’d guess Toronto and Montreal and Ottawa will be a little more comfortable as they’re all in the same timezone. We’re in the same timezone as Edm. Do Vancouver and Winnipeg get the butt-end of the stick in this setup? Is it really any different than any other season? What say you?

I think we will see a lot of 8pm Eastern/ 6pm Mountain time starts. At least for Flames vs Eastern teams. The west games I think we will see a more traditional 7 or 8 mountain start. 

[Carty]

Quick update on a Monday night:   The NHL and NHLPA will continue to negotiate protocols for the 2020-21 season, but agreed that the economic framework of the newly negotiated CBA won’t be changed.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/stalemate-nhl-nhlpa-agree-keep-economic-framework-new-cba/

[Horsman1]

5 hours ago, Carty said:

Quick update on a Monday night:   The NHL and NHLPA will continue to negotiate protocols for the 2020-21 season, but agreed that the economic framework of the newly negotiated CBA won’t be changed.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/stalemate-nhl-nhlpa-agree-keep-economic-framework-new-cba/

as well .. a 56 game schedule starting on Jan 12 and 2 week training camp with no exhibition games

 

[ABC923]

If it were up to me, I’d roll with mini bubbles through the season.  Not as strict, just gather all teams in the Division in the same location for a couple weeks to play a series of games.  If a team has an outbreak, this makes it easier to rearrange the schedule on the fly a bit while players isolate or teams figure out contingencies. After 2-3 weeks, the division shifts to the next location.  This also allows teams some sense of normality for players as they get some time at home.  Games could be played back to back in each location, with two games a day on weekdays and maybe 3 on weekends.  Since fans likely won’t be in the stands (at least at the start), the television schedule can be easily worked out regardless. With seven teams in our division, that makes eight games played in each location per team, should be relatively straight forward for scheduling. This has the added benefit of minimizing travel for teams, which also allows for teams to play more games in back to back days, allowing for a tighter regular season.