Will The NHL Return To Finish The 2019-2020 NHL Season And Playoffs?

2019-2020 NHL Season On March 12, 2020, the hockey world and the world itself came to a grinding halt due to the devastating Corona-Virus pandemic.

It has been over one hundred years since the world has seen a pandemic that has caused the whole world to shut down. The last time a pandemic this severe occurred was the Spanish Flu of 1918-1920. That pandemic lasted nearly 36 months from January 1919 to December 1920, it infected 500 million people and has an estimated death toll of 17 million and upwards of as many as 50 million people and possibly more, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

The Spanish Flu pandemic was so severe that it was deemed too unsafe for people to gather together, thus the NHL was forced to cancel the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals. The finals were canceled after the fifth game between the Montreal Canadians (NHL) vs. Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA), the series was tied at 2-2-1.

Fast forward to the 2019-2020 NHL season and we are in the same deadly predicament as one hundred years earlier. This time the NHL finds itself with not only the remainder of the regular season to finish but also how to find a way to allow teams to compete for the Stanley Cup.

The League and the NHLPA have formed a committee and are working hard to plan a return to the ice.

Thus far it has been reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the NHL is considering a return to the season by having teams play out the season in NHL arena’s that can accommodate all of the NHL’s amenities. The league is considering playing the remaining 189 regular-season games in a tournament-style format in four centralized NHL cities. That means that the plan would be to play as many as three games per day in all four venues, with no fans in attendance.

“Listen, the decision ultimately will be made by medical people and people who run governments at all levels, so we’re not going to try and do anything that flies in the face of what we’re being told is appropriate,” Bettman said during a candid interview on Ron MacLean’s ‘In Conversation’ show Wednesday night.

At this point in time, nothing has been agreed on as far as resuming The NHL season let alone the playoffs. Bettman did say to Ron MacLean that “if we can’t do ideal if we can’t do perfect, we’re going to have to figure out what’s next to perfect.”