Update on the 2021 season could be coming as soon as this Friday!

We finally feel like there are some developments when it comes to putting together a plan for the 2021 season as the National Hockey League and its Players Association are focused on getting the season started on January 1st, with the hopes of awarding the Stanley Cup at the latest on July, 15th. 

According to Senators insider Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, an update on the 2020-21 season could be coming as soon as this Friday, which is great to hear. 

Garrioch reports that the NHL’s board of governors are expecting an update on the upcoming season by Friday. Before a board call last Thursday,  teams across the league were asked to fill out a survey on local market conditions. 

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk revealed to Garricoch there were roughly 10 questions to answer.

This is not the only thing we heard from the controversial owner who spoke days prior on the air of  Bob McCown podcast. He revealed there that he feels the only was that fans could get in the stands was if there were rapid testing conducted.

“The better solution is testing.” Melnyk said. “We’ve all created these little bubbles of people that we trust. I know I have and I’m very, very careful. If I get COVID-19, look out, I’m in trouble. I’ve got Immunosuppression because of my liver transplant so I’ve got complications. So I’m very cognizant of the fact that I can’t get near somebody and I get tested all the time.

“For sports, what’s going to be important is the testing and the distancing. If you can have people testing and then identified as having been tested negatively then I think you could have a distanced attendance.”

In a recent interview, deputy commissioner Bill Daly did confirm that the NHL was considering different schedules options for the regular-season calendar and playoffs. One would have all teams hosting games in their home arenas and another would require all teams to play in hub cities “that would be determined based on where there are the fewest COVID-19 cases.”

If the league is forced to proceed with the idea of having multiple hub cities, Daly stated that the safety protocols wouldn’t be as strict as what was done in Edmonton and Toronto this past summer for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

While we don’t know precisely what questions were asked in the survey, we feel like things are moving forward and it’s exciting to know we could get a decision on Friday.