Give us all the outdoor NHL games in what will be weird 2020-21 season
The NHL needs to embrace different in 2020-21.
With the race on for the NHL to try and thrash out an agreement with the NHLPA in time to start the 2020-21 season on Jan. 1, 2021, a fruitless endeavour that is likely to end in a punt as we covered here, more and more reports are emerging on what the new season could exactly look like.
One such report today, from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, revealed that up to four NHL teams are exploring the possibility of playing their games in 2020-21 in outdoor stadia in order to have fans back in attendance.
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Those four teams are the Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins and, while Friedman has stressed that such plans are a long shot, the fact that those reports have even made it into the public domain is interesting in itself.
And, in a year where the NHL will just have to embrace weird and different, I say bring on as many outdoor games as possible.
I mean, we are probably going to have to accept a much shortened season in 2020-21 as I mapped out here, so the NHL will need to find new ways of keeping fans engaged and interested in a year that will look unlike any other.
Outdoor games would be the perfect remedy given what a special event they are, while they do make brilliant made for TV productions.
And all of us growing up loving hockey are familiar with the romantic notion of playing with our friends on outdoor ponds and trying to emulate our heroes – outdoor hockey is the lifeblood of the sport in many ways.
As a result, it would be incredibly cool to see some teams play their games in outdoor arenas in 2020-21 and it would just add a whole different meaning to what will be a strange and unpredictable season.
Just imagine the Boston Bruins playing at the legendary Fenway Park in their striking new Retro Reverse Jerseys, hosting a primetime game against the New York Rangers.
That would make for an incredible visual as would the Pittsburgh Penguins playing at either Heinz Field or PNC Park, while it would be pretty fun to see two California teams in the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks play outdoors with Dignity Health Park, home of the MLS Franchise the LA Galaxy, a possible site.
What would would be cooler than seeing the Ducks in their new throwback Mighty Ducks uniforms strutting their stuff on outdoor ice?!
Not a lot if you ask me.
Also, as fun as outdoor games would be they could also provide a real much-needed shot in the arm for franchises and the NHL from a financial point of view with fans allowed in attendance.
While those outdoor arenas won’t be at full capacity, some number of fans is better than none and it would provide some financial relief until fans are allowed back into indoor arenas, whenever that may be.
Again, per Friedman, this is just in the early stages and is unlikely at this point but, with 2020-21 going to look, feel and sound incredibly different, maybe staging a number of outdoor games would help to spark new interest in the NHL while providing some kind of financial boost.
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Outdoor games are woven into the very fabric of hockey and they could have the potential to really salvage the 2020-21 season for the National Hockey League.