Rumor: NHL has set a deadline for how late the Stanley Cup can be awarded.

The NHL has reportedly set a deadline.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Rumor: NHL has set a deadline for how late the Stanley Cup can be awarded.
Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma

For fans of the National Hockey League the current stoppage in the league's season has led to nothing but frustration and waiting, lots and lots of waiting. Things were made all the more frustrating last week when multiple reports suggested that the league would push back the start of NHL training camps from sometime in mid July to early August, something that meant yet more waiting for fans of the NHL.

It is a frustrating game to play if you are closely following the situation but thankfully today we may have some good news for those of you who have been holding out hope that we will in fact see a Stanley Cup Champion crowned in 2020. In a recent article for The Athletic, Toronto Maple Leafs insider James Mirtle revealed that his sources have informed him that the league has a deadline in mind for the latest possible moment at which the Stanley Cup could be awarded.

First here's what Mirtle had to say on the issue:

I’m told at this point that the latest the NHL believes it can give out the Stanley Cup is Oct. 8, four days before Canadian Thanksgiving. (The NBA’s current projected end date is Oct. 12.)

The NHL would then begin the draft and free agency in mid-October, followed by a two-month offseason that would carry into December.

Given the aforementioned date of early August for the start of training camp that would put the NHL on a very tight schedule indeed. That means that the league would have roughly just 9 weeks for both the respective training camps for each and every team as well as for playing out every round of the playoffs as well. Of course a condensed schedule would make sense here given that many players have spoken out about the fact that they do not wish to be quarantined away from their families for long periods of time. 

At this point there is no telling if the NHL will stick to this date, but I suspect that the new timing regarding their training camp may in fact be related to the self-imposed time limit the league has put in place.

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