Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ”
Here’s a bunch of random thoughts pertaining to the hockey horizon.
The Return-To-Play target date for the National Hockey League and their proposed 56 game season is January 13th.
Training Camps are projected to open 10 days prior to the opening of the season.
The 7 NHL teams that had no post season play last year had been promised a one week head start for their training camps, but that appears highly unlikely.
Effective now, the NHL & the Players Association are discussing key dates like the Trade Deadline, the commencement of the playoffs plus how they’ll handle interruptions from COVID-19….if the NFL has had issues, you’ve got to believe the NHL will face similar hurdles.
What I found most curious about these new dates and logistics is the report that ” abbra cadabra- alikazam ” economic obstacles dividing the owners and the players no longer were going to be a deal killer.
These guys have fought over money for a quarter century and then all of a sudden the financial factors vanish ?
Come On !!!!
Quickly, Team Canada released 5 players from the National Junior Camp in Red Deer this week as those players were deemed ” unfit to play. ”
The World Junior Tournament begins on Christmas Day on Edmonton.
Canada has had 10 percent of their Selection Camp players impacted by coronavirus.
Plus, Sweden and Germany both reported significant positive tests
I hope there’s a World Junior Tournament. And I hope there’s NHL action come mid-January. But I wonder if both initiatives aren’t somewhat if not overly optimistic based on the current landscape.
I’m Fred Wallace