It's been over a week now since the NHL set the target date for the 2020-21 season start at January 13th, 2021, and I'm sure that many had assumed that we would have had a deal finalized - or at least close to finalized by now.
Alas, here we are, with one month remaining until January 13th with no plan in place, causing some media speculation that we may be looking at a potential setback, forcing the season to start later than anticipated.
TSN's Darren Dreger joined the TSN Overdrive crew on Monday morning to discuss the status of the NHL's Return to Play plan, kicking off his appearance by stating that it's "a bit optimistic to expect that training camps would open on January 3rd," which would line up as the correct timeline to ensure the January 13th target date is met to begin the 2020-21 season.
Dreger also offered the opinion that in order for the league to hit its target date, the plan would probably have to be finalized this week which, if true, really puts the pressure on the NHL and the NHLPA to grind out a deal in the coming days to be able to submit it for a vote by the board of governors by the end of the week.
Another topic of discussion was whether or not teams would allow fans in their respective arenas, given the fact that the second wave of COVID-19 has been raging in certain areas in recent weeks. As expected, Dreger mentioned that he could see different cities taking a different approach. Hot-bed areas (using California, as an example) are unlikely to allow any fans to start out, while other States may allow a low volume of fans to attend games, depending on how the situation develops. Canada looks like a hard no across the board at this stage.
Dregs did provide some potentially good news as well, confirming that most players have already returned to their NHL cities and that they did so of their own accord, having received no official direction to do so by either the PA or by their respective clubs. So ultimately, it seems as though assembling rosters in case of a quick resolution to the Return to Play negotiations should not be an issue.
The countdown begins, folks. If we reach the weekend without a deal in place, it's looking increasingly likely that the league may be forced to push back its target date by at least a few days to accommodate the new timelines. Fingers crossed that a deal gets done.
Update:
Sportsnet's Chris Johnston is reporting that talks are ongoing between the NHL and the NHLPA, in hopes of arriving at an agreement in the coming days. These talks include an outline of protocols, critical dates (such as training camp and cap compliance) and rules for transition.
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Source: TSN's Darren Dreger
