It looks unlikely all NHL teams will play their scheduled 82 games. Is there a certain number the NHL wants it’s 31 teams to reach?
We’ve reached 21 days without hockey. Even more frustrating, we still have no idea when it will come back. There’s seemingly been zero progress on the subject since the NHL suspended its season. Unrelated but we’re not seeing any progress on that P.K. Subban game show we were promised either.
A stray article about the NBA found its way to me this morning dealing with the same topic: when will the respective leagues once again resume play. The NBA is still looking at neutral site fan less games, as was expected.
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One interesting question was just how many regular season games should there be if play resumes. The NBA seems to have their own magic number.
"According to the New York Post’s Marc Berman, the league prefers the regular season hit the 70-game mark that satisfies regional TV contracts, which means each team would have between three and seven games as a tune-up for the postseason."
Since both the NHL and NBA play an 82 game season should the NHL be aiming to have each of its 31 teams play 70 games? Since many of their teams are covered by the same regional sports networks as their basketball playing counterparts, is hockey under the same contractual restrictions? There might be more questions than answers here.
Some fans and even players are pushing for an expanded playoffs format which could have anywhere from 24 to all 31 teams. In that sense it would act as a hybrid regular season and playoffs to make up for missed games, as well as missed revenue from the shorter amount of games. If 70 is the magic number that needs to be reached, maybe the expanded playoff format isn’t a viable option.
Then there is the possibility the NHL has no magic number to hit. A quick look at the frozen in time NHL standings show that most teams have already played 70 games, or are at most one or two away from hitting that mark. The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders are the only teams that have 68 games played. With the NHL beginning its season a few weeks before the NBA, it’s not surprising teams only have just over ten games left on their calendar.
It makes full sense for the NHL to go straight into the playoffs when the 2019-2020 once again begins play. The NBA wasn’t as far along in their season, plus they have some added flexibility. After all it’s easier to find a venue to play basketball and make up those games than an ice rink.
The NHL has long maintained its ultimate goal for this year is to award the Stanley Cup. If their lockout shortened schedules are any indicator, instead of regular season games to great players back in shape their might be a short training camp. There’s a better chance we see more regular season basketball than hockey this season when all is said and done.