Plans being made for various fan scenarios
Scenarios of full arenas, partial capacity and no admittance are being worked out
It should come as no surprise that the NHL would really like to have fans back in the stands next season.
It should also come as no surprise that they don’t know if that will happen. Such is that reality in this COVID-19 world.
With that in mind, the Vancouver Canucks are working on three plans for 2020-21: having no fans in the stands, which is pretty straightforward; having full crowds, essentially a return to normal; and a third option, with partial capacity allowed.
“Although there is still a lot of uncertainty, we are looking at all possibilities for next season, including new physically distanced plans for Rogers Arena,” Canucks Sports and Entertainment chief operating office Trent Carroll confirmed in a statement.
“Whatever the scenario, we will be ready and will work closely with the NHL and the local health authorities to make sure we do it right. Clearly our hope is that somehow it becomes possible to welcome our fans back to watch our team play in Rogers Arena next year if we were to get the green light to do so.”
As it stands, gatherings of more than 50 people in one place are not permitted under public health orders in B.C., so the second and third options seem more realistic.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has repeated that until there’s a vaccine or effective treatment for the coronavirus, this restriction against large gatherings will remain in place. Other health officials around the continent have taken similar positions.
And there’s the question of the Canada-U.S. border, which remains closed to most travel. NHL teams were granted exemptions to fly from U.S. cities to Edmonton and Toronto for this summer’s secure-zone playoff hockey, but if COVID-19 continues to rage south of the border through the winter, it’s difficult to imagine the Canadian government allowing pro hockey teams to fly back and forth across the border.
Even so, preparations are still being made for scenarios where an effective treatment or vaccine emerges this winter or next spring.
The NHL, its teams and the players’ association have had talks about next season, but nothing definite has yet emerged and likely won’t until after the current Stanley Cup Playoffs in Edmonton.
In July, the NHL announced it was hoping to start the 2020-21 season on Dec. 1. Gary Meagher, the NHL’s executive vice-president of communications, acknowledged in an email Wednesday that this date was always an aspirational one. He wouldn’t confirm when the league might confirm a start date.
“There has been little discussion to this point on what next season will look like but, as we were for our current return to play, we will be flexible and adaptable to deal with whatever challenges might lie ahead,” he said. “Obviously, it is our hope to have fans in our arenas as soon as possible, but it is pure speculation at this point to suggest when that might occur or when our 2020-21 season might actually start.”
Teams are being cautious about their plans, albeit a league source told Postmedia News that teams were preparing to start next season with no fans in the stands, but eventually being allowed to have half-capacity and perhaps even near-full capacity arenas by the end of the regular season.
There has been speculation the NHL might look at a four-hub plan, but most think that is unworkable given the huge costs the current two-hub format incurred.
Teams are extremely budget conscious these days, having lost out on late-season and playoff ticket revenues. Cuts are happening everywhere. The Canucks have already chopped 49 people from their payroll and more are expected to be let go. Teams that have been out of action for months have already made heavy cuts: the Ottawa Senators, for example, are believed to be down to a skeleton staff of just 50 people.
It has also been suggested the Canadian teams might play in a Canadian division, which would be simpler for travel purposes, assuming Canada doesn’t have a terrible winter surge of COVID -19, which would likely limit travel.
ESPN reported last week that a likely scenario would see the NHL playing a 60- to 65-game schedule, starting in mid- to late January.
Finding a start date that would allow for a minimum number of games with fans in the stands was an important consideration, one executive told ESPN.
In the end, though, everything remains contingent on finding a COVID-19 vaccine.