NHL commissioner Gary Bettman would do just about anything to start the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs because if he doesn’t, the NHL will lose the enormous post-season TV revenue which could result in as many as five or six teams, maybe more, facing financial ruin.
Considering the situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic in many of the major NHL cities like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Montreal and Toronto, Bettman does not want to be perceived as pushing business and revenue over the health of the players.
Right now, there are huge hurdles to overcome if the NHL is to start the playoffs, the most important, other than health (and safety), being the closed U.S.-Canada border. Ontario Premier Doug Ford does not want to open his province’s border to the south anytime soon, which really complicates any plans Bettman has.
What if the NHL was offered the option of using Prince Edward Island as a hub for the NHL playoffs, playing games at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, the Credit Union Place in Summerside and New Brunswick affiliates like the new rink in Moncton and the facility in Saint John?
Playing the P.E.I.-is-coronavirus-virus-free card, and offering games in the low-risk New Brunswick sites, would endear Bettman to the NHL Players’ Union and offer an option to replenish the NHL coffers with the much-needed TV revenue.
Aside from the obvious benefits of filling the empty Island hotels and the impact on food services, a move here would put Prince Edward Island on the North American hockey map. I estimate that 80 per cent of the American population does not have any idea where Prince Edward Island is and the focus on this little island would be at the centre of the hockey world. Likely not this year, but somewhere in the future, the payoff would be enormous. Even if Premier Dennis King pursued this issue with Bettman and someone leaked “the King proposal” that would be great PR, too. Millions would be asking, what and where is P.E.I.?
Bettman has very few options, maybe moving the NHL playoffs to coronavirus-free P.E.I. and affiliates are as good a proposal as Bettman has right now. Getting the green light for such a project would require approval from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has already stated those visiting Canada must quarantine for 14 days with no exceptions. You and I have been around long enough to understand big boys like Bettman and many of the NHL’s most powerful owners can open doors anywhere and that means on both sides of the border.
With all the border closed, with state-to-state and province-to-province travel restricted, the idea we will have NHL hockey maybe in mid-June seems far-fetched, but in this new era, anything is possible.
King and Dr. Heather Morrison, the face of public health in this province, have handled the threat to our health flawlessly and they are to be commended. I doubt if the worries of the NHL are on their thoughts much these days, but what about in a month or so down the road?
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) appears to have their sights set on opening a reduced 82-game schedule on July 4 with no fans in the stands and only a TV audience.
On Thursday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled the stay-at-home order opening up that state to what looks like the wild west with bars and stores open devoid of protective masks and social distancing. This is a terribly reckless decision and it could threaten the safe opening that MLB organizers have been trying to finalize.
The players’ union will have to support the half-season, half-salary proposal and that’s not a sure thing. Major league professional sports have never been in such a chaotic state and who knows what lays ahead for all of us.
Chauffeur
After all the bad news, how about for a bit of humour.
My wife Gail has a tough shoulder surgery in the near future and she’s stressed out. Not about the surgery but stressed out because I shall have to drive her around for a month or so while her shoulder will be in a sling.
Harness racing
In harness racing news, the outlook is looking better today than last week.
North Sydney, N.S., trainer Randy Getto made CTV news midweek when he had his two-year-old filly, Stay The Blazes Home, out for a jog at the Cape Breton track. The horse is generating much-needed harness racing attention after the quote by Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.
Qualifiers at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park are set for next Saturday and can be viewed on the Red Shores website. What a welcome sight for race fans.
Jockeys were permitted at Woodbine Racetrack this week as they exercised the horses in their care, which is a great sign both thoroughbred and harness racing are on the horizon. Racing in Mohawk starts June 5 while racing in Ohio gets underway on May 26 at Scioto Downs and May 26 at Northfield.
Racing in Ohio, another major US state, cleared the first hurdle on Wednesday and are awaiting the OK from health officials with late May qualifiers and race dates on the schedule.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].