Advantages and disadvantages of 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs for players

Will the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs be safe for players?

We are one week away from training camps officially opening back up to restart the 2019-2020 season. 24 NHL teams and over 700 players in total will start their quest in an unprecedented 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs tournament that has never seen before. There are a lot of different scenarios that can happen, but the main goal will be to see the postseason completed safely.

With the novel coronavirus cases rising across North America to various degrees, the safety of everyone involved from players to team representatives to television production crews will be the top priority. I have written two articles in the past on the advantages and concerns of playing these Stanley Cup Playoffs that can be found in the links.

Teams will be in a bubble. The idea of the bubble is simple in ideal terms. Players report to their practice facilities and, eventually, the hub cities. Everyone will get tested multiple times a day. If someone tests positive, they will sit out in quarantine following the CDC guidelines until they can produce consecutive negative tests. No one will be allowed to enter the arena or be around other team members unless they produce negative test results.

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Ideally, this is all accomplished before the playoffs start, creating a safe environment for everyone participating to just focus on the tasks at hand, which are hockey and winning. Everyone stays together safely, everyone keeps producing negative tests, all players are available and safe throughout the playoffs and return home to their families once their participation is over.

No players have decided to opt-out of the playoff season yet. They will have a three-day window to make that decision at the start of training camp on July 13th.

If too many players opt-out, especially prominent superstars, the postseason could be ruined before it even begins. We have to assume the many months of planning by many NHL executives and experts involved will make every player feel safe enough to participate.

Of course, the novel coronavirus will dictate how everything plays out as it has dictated actions for the past 4 months and why we are having NHL hockey in the summer in the first place.

This virus is not leaving any time soon. If the postseason can go through without a hitch, it buys more time to start next season later and, hopefully, in a safer environment for more fans to attend games. The way this is all trending, the season would not start normally in October with packed arenas as per usual with or without these playoffs proceeding.

Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena will host the entire Eastern Conference until the Conference Finals and Edmonton’s Rogers Place will host the entire Western Conference along with both Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals.

Some may feel this is an advantage for Maple Leafs and Oilers, but their players will be subjected to the same “bubble” plans as the other 22 teams will be up against. They will not be going home to sleep in their own beds and be with their families in between games.

There will be slight advantages in comfort in the environment and sightlines, but nothing to really give the Maple Leafs and Oilers a clear advantage over their opponents. All of the players have played in these buildings before to some degree.

Also, there will be no true home-ice advantage without fans. The fans are what make road games hostile for visitors, more accelerating for home teams, and amplify emotions throughout the building. The only advantage the designated home team will have in a game will be the last line change for matchup purposes. That’s it. Everything else will just be neutral.

For veteran players, I don’t see any advantages or disadvantages in playing in this environment without fans and staying in confinement until it’s time to play or practice, then report back to the hotel. At this point in their careers, they are seasoned professionals. They know how to channel all their energy to focus on the task at hand no matter the situation.

As long as they are safe and can just focus on hockey, they will be able to excel. The players in the twilight of their careers do not want to ride into the sunset of their illustrious careers having the novel coronavirus take their last run or possible last run at the Stanley Cup.

For younger players entering their first playoff experience, they will not get the full playoff experience other than the intense level of play on the ice. Most players have had success through different levels of their youth playing careers, playing in big games with little to no fans in attendance anyways.

At the end of the day, this is about hockey. This is what players have lived their whole lives to do. As long as their health is protected and they can just focus on playing, they will be fine and it will be rewarding to the fans watching at home or small gatherings.

This is a tremendous way for the NHL and its players to give back to the fans that have given them so much over the years. There may be a split room for the players as to what side of the fence they are on, but they will be there as long as it’s safe for them.

There is the nightmare scenario of multiple players going down per team due to the virus. If it happened in the middle of a series, that would sabotage the series and possibly the entire playoff structure. The worst-case scenario for everyone involved would be this playoff season needing to end because of health concerns before it is completed without a team winning the Stanley Cup. All of the effort, planning, and money to this point would be wasted.

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The window is very tight to get this playoff completed. It is worth the risk as long as all the players and staff members buy into the safety protocols, protect themselves, and stay safe while the environment around them is handled with the same extreme care.

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