LEAGUE SHARES DRAFT SCHEDULE WITH PLAYERS

We're finally getting a real sense of what the 2020-21 season might look like. According to a report by TSN, the NHL has shared a draft schedule with players. It includes a 56-game season. While the NHL is basing the schedule on a start date of January 1st, according to Frank Seravalli both sides have discussed pushing that back to either January 15th or 16th.

Seravalli goes on to say there were no discussions during the recent proposal by the league on the economic requests being made, which include players deferring more of their salaries and putting more in escrow. He adds that while it's difficult to say this is real progress towards holding a season in 2020-21, it's the most positive sign he's seen in a while.


According to reporter Chip Alexander, who covers the Carolina Hurricanes, GM Don Waddell told reporters he believes games will be played at PNC arena sometimes in January and a deal between the league and players should be reached within the next couple of days.


"We’re not actually having negotiations and we’re not seeking to renegotiate,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this week. “We made a number of assumptions collectively over the summer, most of which are not applicable anymore."

“Whatever the revenues are, the players only get 50 per cent. And if we overpay them and they don’t pay us back in the short term, they have to pay us back over time. There will be stresses on the system, and we’ve had discussions about what those stresses are, and how they might be dealt with. But we’re not trying to say ‘You must do X, Y and Z.’ We’re trying to look for ways to continue to work together.”

It's also been noted by TSN's Rick Westhead that the NHLPA is weighing its options for legal action should the 2020-21 season be cancelled entirely.