MATT VENSEL’S PENGUINS CHAT
Highlights from Matt Vensel’s Thursday Penguins chat, which you can join at post-gazette.com. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity:
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D S fischer: There has been some talk about Pittsburgh being a host city for the resumption of the NHL season. Can this be viable with mostly all of the practice facilities being outside of the city?
Matt Vensel: The proximity of practice ice is something I’ve considered as well. UPMC66 is about 25 minutes from downtown. That’s a bit of a haul. RMU Island Sports Complex is a nice facility but I don’t know if that would be an option for practice ice. There are a few other rinks within 20 minutes or so of Pittsburgh but I don’t know if they’re up to the NHL’s standard. There are more important things as far as the NHL is concerned, starting with the number of COVID cases in the area and available tests for players, staff, etc. But I do think the proximity of UPMC66 could be a strike against the Pens, as nice as the place is. We should find out in late June.
Doug: Any talk about how the 2020-21 schedule may unfold? Assuming clubs get up and running in July and the Cup is awarded in Sept/ Oct ... a few months off and back at it? Perhaps compress the 2020-21 schedule and only add a month or so (award the Cup in July) and get back to a normal October start in 2021-22 (barring additional outbreaks)? I assume the NHLPA has to ratify. Also, any idea how this could affect the renewal of the CBA which expires in 2022?
Matt Vensel: Gary Bettman said last week that the NHL is open to starting the 2020-21 season in December, maybe even kicking things off with the Winter Classic. The NHL also has indicated it hopes to play a full slate in front of fans. If the NHL goes that route, they would have to condense the schedule, eliminating scheduled breaks and the All-Star Game. Still, that would mean that at the earliest the Cup would be rewarded sometime in July. My stance on this and pretty much everything right now is that it’s a unique situation, with much more important things at stake than hockey, and the decisions the league makes either way will leave folks unhappy. But if hockey is played, I think we should feel fortunate regardless given everything that’s going on in the world. As for the financial stuff, all that needs to get sorted out still and, yes, the players will have to sign off on any major changes to the league’s schedule or salary structure.
Joe: When are the Pens going to be back at Cranberry taking the ice in small groups?
Matt Vensel: Last we heard from the NHL, which was over Memorial Day weekend, the league hoped to move into Phase 2 in the first half of June.
pozone: The only team I worry about come the playoffs is the Flyers. I believe they can and will push us around?
Matt Vensel: I would worry about a few more teams than that. Boston is a great team. Tampa Bay has all that starpower. Carolina could be a threat with all their young talent. The Caps always put up a fight. But I do agree that the Flyers, one of the hottest teams in hockey when the sports world came to a halt, will be a team no one is excited to face. As always, you wonder about their goaltending. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make the NHL’s final eight.