The NHL remains in limbo with no clear self-isolation lifts in sight. Yet the league is staying hopeful that they can squeeze in the last of the regular season. There are a lot of ifs and buts still floating around and only time will tell if they can pull it off.
Colorado Avalanche declare all of their players suffering from the virus have now made a full recovery. Fans and players alike are hopeful that this is the start of things looking up for the 2020 season.
Although the NHL is on lockdown, there is still plenty going on behind the scenes. Let's take a look at some of the freshest news and updates.
A Showdown of Different Sorts
Alex Ovechkin melted the hearts of the sporting world last month when a video emerged of him and his son hanging out playing EA Sports NHL 20. Wayne Gretzky, however, had a light bulb moment. He has been busy arranging an NHL 20 showdown with rival Ovechkin who was in pursuit of taking over his career goals record.
The showdown date has been set for the 22nd 8 pm Eastern time. It will be live-streamed on the Capitals' Twitch Channel. Gretzky, who is now the executive of the Edmonton Oilers hopes that the showdown offers hockey fans some distraction. The players intend to use the event to raise some money for the coronavirus relief effort.
Worries Over NHL Draft Lottery in Worst Case Scenario
Players are using the postponement as an opportunity to spend some quality time with their families. At the same time, club bosses and NHL officials are having a tough time coming to terms with the worst-case scenario.
If the regular season does have to be canceled, it will trigger a logistical nightmare. There would be a lot of trophies without homes this year, and the NHL Draft would have to be completely reshaped.
It's being proposed that the NHL Draft follows a similar format as the one that followed 2005’s lockout. There are concerns that what worked then will not necessarily work now; the 2020's situation is profoundly different after all. 2005 saw a complete wipeout of the season. Therefore, the NHL had no reference points to judge the team's ability, so the model was deemed fair. This year, more than 80% of the season has been played, and movements have already been made.
How the NHL will adjust the 2005 model to be workable and fair is still unclear. They will need to take into account first-round pick trades and the current 2019/20 standings if they intend to use them at all.
Stay With Us
This year is shaping up to be an interesting one, to say the least. There are still so many unanswered questions to which we hope to bring you the answers soon. Don't go anywhere, and we'll be right back to bring you the
latest NHL news and predictions
.