Bruins Notebook: NHL exploring short-term hubs, realigned divisions as it preps for 2021 season; Bruins tease ‘reverse retro’ jersey

As daunting as the challenge is of getting a new season off the ground in the midst of a pandemic, the NBA hasn’t let the current COVID climate deter it from forging ahead with plans to start up a modified, but still robust, 2020-21 season. 

LeBron James and the Lakers might have defeated the Heat in the NBA Finals just a month ago, but the NBA already has the gears turning on a new 72-game campaign that will begin on Dec. 22 — with critical offseason dates such as the NBA Draft (Nov. 18) and the start of free agency (Nov. 20) quickly approaching. 

The NHL managed to wrap up its 2019-20 campaign back on Sept. 28 when the Lightning hoisted the Stanley Cup up in the Edmonton bubble, but other than a declaration of a targeted start date of Jan. 1, 2021 — we haven't heard much in terms of concrete details about what to expect from the league's upcoming season.

With most of the dust settled from a stagnant free-agent market and a number of other critical offseason dates now come and gone, it would appear as though most parties involved with the revival of NHL hockey in 2021 are currently in a holding pattern — waiting for the powers at be to chart a course toward an augmented season.

But for the first time in a long time, we finally received some additional insight into what the 2021 NHL season might look like — as commissioner Gary Bettman discussed a number of potential new protocols and major tweaks while speaking at the 2020 Paley International Council Summit alongside MLB's Rob Manfred and the NBA's Adam Silver this week.

To the shock of very few (especially those in the NHLPA), a season-long "bubble" environment is not on the table as a realistic option when it comes to keeping this new season chugging along without any major outbreaks or other disruptions.

But that also doesn't mean it's a given that teams are just going to be playing in their own empty barns once the puck is officially dropped in 2021.

Bettman noted that a number of options remain on the table this season when it comes to venues and scheduling — whether it be the regular home-and-away travel system or short-term hubs. These hubs would provide a secure and streamlined environment for a number of teams to log a significant slate of their regular-season games, albeit with a shorter stay when compared to what teams dealt with up in Toronto and Edmonton this past summer.

"You'll play for 10 to 12 days," Bettman said of these hubs. "You'll play a bunch of games without traveling. You'll go back, go home for a week, be with your family. We'll have our testing protocols and all the other things you need. "It's not going to be quite as effective as a bubble, but we think we can, if we go this route, minimize the risks to the extent practical and sensible. And so that's one of the things that we're talking about."

Bettman also added that a new season could feature a mix of both these hubs and regularly scheduled games in team's usual venues (with fan attendance largely dependent on state/provincial safety guidelines). Of course, even if a team like the Bruins was regularly traveling for road games, the likely route for them and every other team would be stacking multiple games against one opponent (similar to a baseball series) or holding court in an area with many teams (taking on the Rangers/Devils/Islanders/Flyers within one road trip) in order to limit distance and maximize the number of games a team can complete in a safe manner.

Of course, that opens the door for some serious modifications to divisions and conferences — just as we discussed last month when it comes to a one-year realignment across the NHL.  

No plans have yet been set in stone, but Bettman noted that the ongoing uncertainty as it pertains to the closed border between the U.S. and Canada (which likely won't be lifted any time soon) does necessitate the need for some contingency plans when it comes to scheduling games. At this point, it appears as though the writing is on the wall when it comes to the league adopting an All-Canadian division and a heavily regional-based schedule for all U.S. teams.

"Obviously, we're not going to move all seven Canadian franchises south of the 49th Parallel, and so we have to look at alternative ways to play," Bettman said. "And while crossing the U.S.-Canadian border is an issue, we're also seeing within the United States limitations in terms of quarantining when you go from certain states to other states. It's again part of having to be flexible.... As it relates to the travel issue, which is obviously the great unknown, we may have to temporarily realign to deal with geography, and that may make sense, because having some of our teams travel from Florida to California may not make sense.

"It may be that we're better off, particularly if we're playing a reduced schedule, which we're contemplating, keeping it geographically centric, more divisional based, and realigning, again on a temporary basis, to deal with the travel issues."

As far as the number of games on the docket in 2021, Bettman added: "Our goal is to get back to a normal schedule starting [next] fall and being done before July on a longer-term basis."

That coincides with a report from Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, which highlights a memo from deputy commissioner Bill Daly that reaffirms a Jan. 1 starting date, with an end to regular-season play by April 2021. Of course, it remains to be seen just how many games the league can squeeze into four-plus months of action before turning things over to the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Even though some of the proposed plans tossed out by Bettman during the Paley Summit are not set in stone, we could be gaining some clarity in the coming days — as the NHL board of governors is set to meet Thursday and discuss the next steps when it comes to carving out a suitable (and safe) format for the 2021 season.

B’s hint at new jersey 

It sure looks as though the Bruins are ready to embrace some gold threads as part of the NHL’s new “Reverse Retro” line of alternate jerseys.

The Bruins, along with the other 30 clubs in the NHL, released matching videos teasing the new garb Tuesday — which all appear to pay tribute to some memorable jerseys of yesteryear, albeit with a twist in terms of a flip in primary colors.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1326268440953425920

Boston’s short clip didn’t offer much beyond a clear hint at the color scheme, but we may not have to spend too much time guessing about what the Bruins are actually going to place upon their gold canvas. 

CBS Sports’ Pete Blackburn posted a reported leak of Boston’s “Reverse Retro” jerseys over the weekend — which is a modified design that borrows heavily from the Bourque-Neely era sweaters from the '80s through the mid-'90s. 

https://twitter.com/PeteBlackburn/status/1325900615189467137

Where do these rumored designs land on our list of all-time favorite B’s sweaters? There's a lot to like here, whether it be that retro Spoked B that hasn't been utilized in decades, or the return the infamous crazed 'Meth Bear' logo. However, I’m going to reserve judgment until I actually get a closer look at these jerseys, especially once they’re actually donned by B’s skaters. I was generally … *‘whelmed* when Boston unveiled its 2019 Winter Classic threads, but they quickly became one of my favorite designs upon seeing them in action out on the ice.

I’ll give these new sweaters the same extended evaluation window before tossing out some grades.