2020-21 NHL season is in danger of not starting on time

The lack of progress over the last five days in crafting protocols for the 2020-21 season would seem to jeopardize the NHL’s targeted Jan. 1 puck drop on a hypothetical 60-game regular season.

Indeed, a 48-game season beginning the third week of January appears the more likely objective. The 1994-95 lockout season began Jan. 20 while the 2012-13 lockout year opened Jan. 19th.

The parties must agree on health and safety protocols outside of a bubble. With an expectation of exposure, positive tests, infection and cases, the league and union must create contingencies within the schedule for postponements; for potentially ranking teams by percentages rather than points if teams do not play the same number of games; for roster expansion to accommodate positive (or inconclusive) tests, etc.

The six-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) agreed to by both parties in early July during the Return to Play negotiations stipulated that the players would defer 10 percent of their pay with escrow capped at 20 percent. Players thus would have been guaranteed 72 percent of their face-value pay for the coming season.

Citing liquidity issues, the league now is asking players to defer 26 percent of their pay while increasing the escrow cap to 25 percent. That amounts to a guarantee of 55.5 percent for 2020-21. The league is also asking players to increase the escrow cap for the fourth, fifth and sixth years of the deal.

There is, we are told by several well-placed sources, continuing adamant, widespread opposition within the union to this request to renegotiate the terms of agreement. Indeed, the agreement was intentionally structured by the NHLPA to protect players under contract as much as immediately possible while passing the cost of a flat cap and rolling escrow shortfalls onto later generations.

The NHL remains focused on playing in home arenas, with or without fans as determined by local health agencies and governing bodies. That has not changed with news that a handful of players on the Blue Jackets and Golden Knights have tested positive for COVID-19 while skating informally.

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Igor Burdetskiy

Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & CEO at Hooked on Hockey Magazine

I grew up playing Ball and Roller Hockey day and night somewhat religiously throughout elementary and middle school. The two don't compare though when I lace up the skates and hit the ice. I live and breathe hockey beyond the perspective of "it's just a game" and I will gladly talk hockey for hours with anyone. Hockey is more than just a lifestyle, it's a culture of passionate people who make memories every time the puck is dropped. Hockey has not only helped me get through some of the hardest times in life but has created some of the best memories to date. Want to talk hockey with me? Shoot me an email: iburdetskiy@hookedonhockey.com and let's talk some hockey!

@igorburdetskiy

Igor Burdetskiy

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