Major League Baseball is reportedly working on a plan to start their season as early as May. The NHL could copy their blueprint if it’s successful.
The novel coronavirus has hit the world like a tidal wave. Professional sports leagues have been hit especially hard, as just about every major league around the world has either postponed or canceled their seasons. Those that haven’t have still felt the impact. The NHL season is currently in limbo, but there’s a glimmer of hope that the season might be able to be saved.
What saves it might be Major League Baseball. Much like the NHL, the MLB has seen their season postponed because of the pandemic. However, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the league is focusing on a creative plan to potentially get their season started as early as May.
This plan would involve all 30 teams playing in Arizona with no fans present. They would use a variety of fields, including Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks), several Cactus League (spring training) fields, and other local baseball fields. There would be no fans at any of these games.
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What’s most encouraging about this plan is it’s being supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health as well. This should ensure the teams, their players, and their staff are kept safe.
Obviously, there are some hurdles that still need to be cleared. Can the MLB ensure the safety of everyone involved? Will they be able to make up their lack of gate receipts with more nationally televised games?
Are there going to be enough coronavirus tests available to ensure that everyone involved doesn’t have the coronavirus? And what about tests during the season in case someone winds up catching it? But if all of those concerns are answered, baseball could be back.
Could The NHL Follow Suit?
You can bet the NHL will be watching to see how this goes for the MLB. If all goes well, it’s possible the rest of the regular season, or at least the Stanley Cup Playoffs, could still happen. The league is already going to be watching the NFL draft, which will be held virtually, to see how that goes. Leagues copy each other. They take notes on what works and what doesn’t. This is no different.
However, it could be even more complicated for the NHL to do what the MLB is doing. The largest concern is where are they going to play that will have a number of NHL-regulation-sized rinks available. Ice hockey rinks aren’t as plentiful as baseball fields in the United States. That’s just a fact. Even in Canada, that’s really pushing it.
Now, if the NHL just wants to do the postseason, that’s a lot more plausible. They wouldn’t necessarily need many arenas to pull it off. In fact, the league is already reportedly exploring options, including putting games in North Dakota and New Hampshire.
Each of those locations has successfully hosted the NCAA ice hockey tournaments in recent years, so it’s plausible for the NHL to find a way to make it work. Of course, the scheduling might be a little bit weird, but it’s better than having no hockey, right?
At this point, it’s far from a sure thing. Even the MLB hasn’t begun to finalize the details. They still have a ton of concerns to alleviate and a lot of questions to answer. But if the MLB’s bold plan actually works, the NHL season might be saved by baseball.