As the NHL continues to mull over the fate of the 2019-20 season, Bruins president Cam Neely spoke with season-ticket holders and media members via a virtual town hall on Thursday evening — touching on a number of the league's most pressing issues in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Neely stressed that just about "everything's on the table" in terms of the league's hopes of awarding the Stanley Cup in the late summer or early fall, the Hall of Famer did offer some clarifications and insight into what the game of hockey might look like if/when it returns in the coming months.
Along with potential contingency plans, timelines and other relevant topics, Neely also dished on a number of lighter subjects, including his own playing career and the Bruins' memorable 2011 Stanley Cup reunion on Zoom earlier this week. Here are a few highlights from the town hall:
Neely believes players, teams are willing to play deep into summer to close out this season.
While a scenario in which the 2019-20 NHL season is shuttered prematurely remains as a very tangible reality for the league, Neely did note that such a measure would only be taken if no other options are remotely feasible. Of course, there are many hurdles that the league, teams and hundreds of players and staff would have to clear in order to get games organized with the next couple of months – whether it be finding suitable venues, restructuring schedules, establishing training camps and of course, guaranteeing the health and safety of the thousands involved in such an undertaking.
But, barring a sobering setback, it appears as though the NHL continues to move forward on a plan to bring hockey back later this summer, even if a set plan has not yet been put in place.
"You know, everything's on the table now, based on the conversations I have with the league," Neely said. "I mean, obviously, we have to wait and see what happens nationally and North America wise. I can tell you this — that both the players and ownership want to do everything possible to try and get the season completed. If that means playing into the summer, we're all willing to do that. Obviously that would mean pushing next season back a little bit and they feel there's an opportunity to be able to push next season back and still get an 82-game schedule in the following year.
"So we're trying to be as patient as possible, the players are doing everything they can, right now to keep themselves in the best shape as they can. You know, we hopefully get back to training and then some sort of training camp where they can get on the ice. But everything's on the table to try and get the season completed, which is exciting for us. I know our players are very excited about it, based on you know, where we finished when the pause took place, and in the potential that our group has."
Games with no fans in attendance seems like a logical concession all parties will have to make.
Neely didn't exactly write off a scenario in which fans could once again take in playoff hockey from the seats at TD Garden — even at decreased capacity — but given that the league's priority is to simply organize and play these contests, it appears as though we likely won't see packed barns for some time.
"Like I said, they've talked about everything — playing in front of no fans, playing with half of the building, quarter of a building," Neely said. "And obviously, not only are we following what's going on nationally, but state by state, there could be different restrictions. So they're looking at that. I mean, when the time comes, they'll certainly look at what the state restrictions are, city restrictions, and see what we can do. You know, obviously the most fun is to play in front of the fans, and that's what the players would prefer. But having said that, if it gets to a point where we can play hockey games without fans and get the season going, I can see the league recommending that course of action."
If the NHL returns this season, don't expect a rapid ramp-up.
While the NHL could be targeting a return in July, don't expect teams to hit the ground (err, ice) running as soon as the league gives them the green light. Even if a training camp and regular-season games are scheduled ahead of the postseason, don't expect this ramp-up period to only last a week or so:
"This is what I've been told — that if we get the green light, the players will have a few days to kind of get into the facilities, work out a little bit, maybe get on the ice on their own," Neely said. " And then they're talking about a potential three-week training camp, maybe a little less, for the players to really get themselves into the best of game condition they can and then they're talking about to finish the regular season — might take another three weeks. So because of the pause and what's happening with the American Hockey League, we are going to be able to have more players around, like our Black Aces, if you will. So we'll see how the schedule really plays out before we really can decide what we're going to do with rest and recovery."
Regional sites are being explored as a potential option for the NHL.
Given that the NHL is likely doing away with a plan to hold games at neutral-site locations such as North Dakota and Manchester, New Hampshire, it appears as though the favored alternative (at least, as of this weekend) is to establish regional sites at NHL venues for all four divisions in the league.
"I think that's gonna be predicated on the regions and the cities and states of what the restrictions may be," Neely said of regional locations. "If we're doing it without fans, they're going to try to make this the best TV event programming possible. And if that's the case, you might see different camera angles, because you may be able to bring the cameras down a little lower than you normally would, because there's no fans in the way.
"So I think they're looking at how can we bring the game on the TV a little differently than you see now. It's not a bad idea to kind of just drop ship the teams in, keep them quarantined in hotels and bring them into games. As long as everybody's taking care of themselves in that regard, I think it probably gives you a little better opportunity to finish out the regular season in that respect."
Coaches are already performing scouting duties for potential playoff matchups.
While it remains to be seen just what format the NHL will adopt if/when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, Neely did state that Boston's coaching staff has taken advantage of this break by beginning scout work on a number of potential playoff opponents this spring.
"One of the things I know the coaches are doing, they're all studying video of our potential first-round matchups, for sure," Neely said. "And then they are certainly going wider than that. But they're looking at the teams that we could potentially play in the first round — breaking down those videos and the games that we've not only played against them, but other games that they've played in. Obviously, we want to look at everybody in our division and conference. So this does give the coaching staff a little bit more time to really break down a lot of video, which they're taking advantage of."
A draft in June?
While some have raised a potentials scenario in which the 2020 NHL Draft remains scheduled for June (albeit virtually), Neely believes that letting such an event play out before the Stanley Cup has been awarded could cause some major headaches, especially in terms of conditional assets.
"I think there's so many little nuances and some complications that they still have to work through because there is a lot of trades that happen at the deadline that are contingent upon what happens with that team in the playoffs or maybe with that player in the playoffs that could affect the draft choice," Neely said. "So, there's a lot of things that have to work out to be able to have the draft prior to finding out who the Stanley Cup champion is, because it could affect some of the transactions that have already taken place."
The NHL wants to keep an 82-game schedule intact for 2020-21 campaign:
Even if we have playoffs stretching into August and September, the NHL does not expect to sacrifice regular-season games for the following season, even if the new campaign does not begin until November/December 2020.
"They do not want to compromise next year schedule either," Neely said of the NHL. "Knowing that this year has already been compromised to a degree and will look probably different when we get up and running, possibly. But they don't want to compromise next year. But they do feel like they could start later and still not compromised with the amount of games played."
On the NHL potentially shortening playoff series to accommodate a shorter window to play these games:
Neely: "I have not heard that. I know that that's been out there in the media. But any calls that I have been on with the league, they have not mentioned shortening the playoff runs at all."
On the state of the NHL's salary-cap limit in the coming years due to a loss in revenue:
"Well, there's no question this is going to affect the cap for next year, and it may even affect it a little bit after that. But I think Don (Sweeney) and our group here has done a nice job of projecting forward and what we may need to do to keep a competitive team on the ice and being mindful of maybe a flat cap for a year or two."
On the chance the NHL jumps right into the playoffs if there is a return this season:
Neely: "I don't think that would happen. I don't think the players would welcome that at all. I think they're going to want to play some games. ... You do want to get back into some form of a camp and play some games. I would be concerned about player safety if that was the case."
On the 2011 Bruins' Zoom reunion:
Neely: "I had the game on. I didn't have the YouTube channel on, but I was following via social. I understand there's some colorful language. But we were excited that the players were really very interested in doing this for our fans and their fans. It was a magical ride, as we all remember. But you know, that Zoom call that all the players are on probably gave you some glimpse of what a locker room atmosphere may be like. And, you know, it's been talked about a lot about what kind of a group that was and, and how special it was and what they were able to accomplish and, you know, those guys will be tight forever."
On what players have stood out so far during the 2019-20 season:
"I was really anxious to see what Anders (Bjork) was going to do, just because of not playing a lot of hockey the last couple of years because of injuries. He's got a nice skillset for today's game. He skates really well, he sees the ice well — he just hasn't played some games. I thought his game was starting to come along. ... Some of the guys that we've plugged in like (Jeremy) Lauzon, I was happy to see how he's developed for us.
"(Connor) Clifton, he's a guy that came in and gave us some really good games for the most part. Those are the guys that you kind of look towards and see how they're developing because the majority of the roster we've seen. And with Jake (DeBrusk), he's working on and he understands to be a little bit more consistent throughout the year and he's more of a streakier player — but I think he recognizes that to take that next step, he's got to be a little bit more consistent, which is something I look for him to improve upon."
On the current emotional state of the 2019-20 Bruins:
Neely: "I think it's very frustrating, especially when you're having a good season like us as a team. And then some of the players individually having really good years. As a player, I would hope that most of them set individual goals as well as team goals and I'm sure some of our guys had some individual goals that they wanted to accomplish this year. We all have a team goal that we want to accomplish and we were tracking towards that. So in that regard, I think it's been a little disappointing for the players, but I also know that they're chomping at the bit to get back at it."
On the favorite line he played on during his career:
"Well, the one that probably didn't get as much time together as I would like — it was with Adam Oates and Joe Juneau. They both were very playmakers and very smart hockey players great, Hockey IQ. I would love to play more games together with those guys.”
On the state of the Bruins' trip to Europe — scheduled for September 2020:
"I think there's a good chance that might get postponed, based on possibly playing into July even August. If that's the case, there's no question the season is going to get delayed a little bit, the following season. So if it does get postponed, we would welcome going there the following year."
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