HOCKEY CALENDAR TAKES ANOTHER HIT
Another item on the hockey calendar this season has been cancelled.
The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Saturday it officially cancelled the 2020 world championships which were scheduled to take place in May in Zurich and Lausanne because of the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“This is a harsh reality to face for the international ice hockey family, but one that we must accept,” IIHF President René Fasel said in a statement. “The coronavirus is a global problem and requires major efforts by government bodies to combat its spread. The IIHF must do all it can to support this fight. We have to set sport aside for now and support both the government bodies and the ice hockey family.”
Earlier this month, the IIHF cancelled the women’s world championships that were scheduled to get underway later this month in Halifax along with several other tournaments run by hockey’s governing body.
The IIHF has already confirmed the 2021 women’s tourney will be held in Halifax and there will be a discussion about moving the men’s tourney to Switzerland next year but that may be difficult.
This decision comes with the NHL season on pause because of the outbreak of COVID-19 and players being told to stay away from the rink while self-isolating at home. Naturally, this would have been a way for some players to extend their seasons as many players from non-playoff teams accept invitations from their respective countries to take part in the tourney.
The expectation is some players from the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, the only Canadian teams that were all but officially eliminated from the NHL playoffs when the action was put on hold by the league, would have been invited. The Vancouver Canucks are also on the outside of the playoff picture, but they’re only two points back and have a chance at the post-season. Players usually enjoy the opportunity to go overseas to play for their country and the atmosphere is relaxed.
As difficult as this was for the IIHF, this was the right decision and moving the tournament to another location wasn’t an option.
“The decision announced (Saturday) by the IIHF to cancel the 2020 world championships was really just a formality,” said Los Angeles-based agent Allan Walsh, co-managing director of Octagon Hockey, in a text message. “It’s been clear since the NHL and the European leagues suspended play it would be near impossible that the world championships would take place.
“We have NHL players self-quarantined, subject to government mandate shelter-in-place orders. We have European countries facing the same challenges. Ultimately, this announcement was inevitable.”
Nobody is sure what’s going to happen with the balance of the NHL season.
Last Monday, the NHL told its players they could return to their homes across the world because the Centers for Disease Control in the United States announced Sunday night it didn’t recommend gatherings of more than 50 people for two months. That means the league won’t be back before mid-May and, if that even happens, there’s no guarantee the regular season will be completed.
The NHL is studying all of its options to have a meaningful finish to the season and the playoffs, but the reality is that may not even be possible. People who want to know what route they’re going to take will have to wait because nobody can predict the effects this virus is going to have and, until the league has a better idea, there will be more questions than answers.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Saturday that NHL owners will receive an update from the league on how this could effect the league’s finances in a conference call Monday. Counterpart Pierre LeBrun noted the general managers will hold a similar call Tuesday. The league may not have much in the way of answers but finances are expected to be at the top of the agenda for the owners.
Speaking to Postmedia in an interview last Tuesday, deputy commissioner Bill Daly indicated there would be financial assistance for teams that may fall on hard times as a result of this shutdown.
“We approach all these matters as a league and we’ve always been in situations where there have been resources for clubs to rely on in tough times,” said Daly. “I would envision we’ll continue to operate in the same way we’ve always operated.”
Ideally, the league would like to crown a Stanley Cup champion this spring but nobody knows for sure if that’s going to be the case. There are several hurdles, and the conference call will likely update the owners on the latest information the league has received from the CDC and Health Canada.
League officials speak every morning and the NHL is hoping at some point it will see rinks reopened to small groups of players and staff to allow them to workout — but those plans are also on hold.