The Only Story Going on Right Now

Coronavirus: What to know as the NHL season is paused due to COVID-19 outbreak – CBS Sports

A good FAQ on what we know to this point and a number of possibilities going forward. Nothing is set in stone yet and there’s going to be a TON of speculation in the coming weeks as the NHL figures out their path forward trying to salvage what they can.

How will teams proceed in the meantime?

As part of the suspension, NHL teams will not be allowed to travel, nor will they be permitted to hold meetings or practices. At the moment, players and team personnel are being told to go home and self-quarantine.

How could this affect the Stanley Cup playoffs?

If the league decides it can return to action in time to finish out the regular season in some fashion, the league may elect to push back the start date of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. According to a report from TSN’s Frank Seravalli, the league has asked clubs to provide arena building availability through the end of July, so it’s possible that we could see the playoffs extend through that period.

Updates and Cancellations: How coronavirus is impacting the hockey world – Yahoo

A great timeline tracking how quickly the cancellations have moved across the hockey world, to include European leagues, NCAA games, and USA Hockey’s plans going forward.

A look at how the coronavirus could impact the NHL’s bottom line – TSN

Frank Seravalli posted yesterday a look at how league finances could be affected. The info is already out-of-date in terms of the threat about canceling things, but the concepts are interesting, including discussion on the potential of league insurance (and that insurance potentially being a reason the NHL delayed) and also what lost revenue could do to the salary cap or Escrow.

The coronavirus’ impact on the economy at large, including a sharp downturn in the Canadian dollar this week, could also have a negative impact on next season’s revenue because approximately one-third of the league’s revenue is in Canadian currency.

“There is a lot of uncertainty right now and I think the concern is the unknown,” Gavin said. “There is still a lot to play out.”

I think regardless, we’re not looking at an $88M cap for 2020-21.