NHL adopts 24-team playoff if season resumes

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The NHL will abandon the rest of the regular season and go straight into the playoffs with 24 teams instead of 16 if it is able to resume play, commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

"As we seek some return to normalcy, this is an important day for NHL fans," Bettman said of the Return To Play Plan. "Since March 12, we've been hopeful and optimistic that by developing all options and alternatives, we could get to this point. I know I join sports fans everywhere when I say we cannot wait for the players to hit the ice again."

Bettman said the goal is to complete the 2019-20 season and to have an 82-game season in 2020-21.

rest - https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29225074/nhl-adopts-24-team-playoff-season-resumes

[OrangeHoof]

It seems like the NHL and NBA are looking at "Arizona Plan"-style completion of their seasons (i.e. get all teams in one place, confine them to hotels and have them play in a limited number of venues to reduce the chance of infection). MLB and the NFL are taking the opposite approach, hoping to play all their games in the usual venues and expecting that screening and cleaning will be enough to limit their liability should there be an infection. I wish all the leagues well in their approaches but I am hesitant to believe that governors, mayors and health commissioners won't try to step in and interfere.

[Dapper Dan]

It seems like the NHL and NBA are looking at "Arizona Plan"-style completion of their seasons (i.e. get all teams in one place, confine them to hotels and have them play in a limited number of venues to reduce the chance of infection). MLB and the NFL are taking the opposite approach, hoping to play all their games in the usual venues and expecting that screening and cleaning will be enough to limit their liability should there be an infection. I wish all the leagues well in their approaches but I am hesitant to believe that governors, mayors and health commissioners won't try to step in and interfere.

Who is going to make sure crowds stay away from the players? What about the camera crews? Will they be confined to hotels? Are they allowed to come out at all?

[BroncoWave]

Who is going to make sure crowds stay away from the players? What about the camera crews? Will they be confined to hotels? Are they allowed to come out at all?

I'm not sure about the NHL proposal, but the NBA has been pretty clear on theirs. No one will be allowed in or out of the bubble once all the teams get there. In theory once everyone is in the bubble and has been tested/quarantined, there should be no issue with anyone within there interacting.

[Poet]

I'm not sure about the NHL proposal, but the NBA has been pretty clear on theirs. No one will be allowed in or out of the bubble once all the teams get there. In theory once everyone is in the bubble and has been tested/quarantined, there should be no issue with anyone within there interacting.

Basketball Biodome.

[Dapper Dan]

I'm not sure about the NHL proposal, but the NBA has been pretty clear on theirs. No one will be allowed in or out of the bubble once all the teams get there. In theory once everyone is in the bubble and has been tested/quarantined, there should be no issue with anyone within there interacting.

What’s the bubble and what is there to keep people in/out?

[BroncoWave]

What’s the bubble and what is there to keep people in/out?

I think the hotel + arena space. Not sure what their plan is to enforce it. I'd imagine they'd have to hire a decent amount of security.

[OrangeHoof]

In the NBA's case, they are considering the entire league be housed at the ESPN/Disney sports/hotel complex in Orlando, FL where there are supposedly three tv-ready regulation basketball arenas, essentially making these a made-for-tv studio event. Those "in the bubble" will also include tv/radio announcers, media reporters, etc but they will probably have to be tested regularly if allowed to come and go.

In the NHL's case, they are looking at two "hubs" in separate cities for the conference tournaments and then a third site (possibly Las Vegas) for the finals.

[MOtorboat]

The NBA does this every year for rookie league, so they already have the template except for testing and no one in or out.

[MOtorboat]

NFL wants to play in stadiums for possible ticket revenue reasons if people are let in. MLB would love the ticket revenue, but they also have the strongest union and the players don’t want to isolate for three months, and there’s a whole lot more people to isolate (although I realize hockey and baseball would be about the same number of people).