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The ECHL is trying to make a go of it. 9 of 26 teams have closed up shop for the year, but the other 17 are still trying to push forward. Best of luck to the Toledo Walleye as they try to make a go of it.
This is the proposed division Detroit will play in:
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning
I’m not going to bog you down with links, the basic information is more than readily available. The NHL is shooting for a 56 game schedule starting January 13th. Realignment is being debated, format is being debated, expanded rosters, taxi squads, complimentary mints (maybe not those) are all being hashed out. Until the schedule hits the paper, and even after, a lot is in the air. For those who follow politics (please don’t, it’s bad for your soul), there is still a proposed 100 day lockdown that may occur in late January. That would shut down 3 months of pretty much anything if it comes to pass.
So, I’m breaking it down “spaghetti western” style with the Good, the bad and the ugly.
The good - the NHL and the NHLPA are working to get the sport up and running. The clear focus is keeping hockey “alive” for the fans in hopes of a regular 21/22 season. If you’ve never seen “flight of the phoenix” with James Stewart, it would be a good time to view this classic. Essentially, an airplane crashes in the middle of the desert. The captain (Stewart) attempts to make a smaller plane out of the wreckage with the help of a German engineer. The point is just to make it to a nearby oil drilling operation and not die. Late in the film you find out that the mastermind of design has never built a large plane, but works for a modeling company. That feeling, that you went from having Einstein to Geoffrey the Giraffe and everything rides on a toy maker trying his hand at building a large machine that will either save or kill everyone. That is the feeling you get looking at the chaos that is the NHL and the NHLPA. In the movie, hey, die on the ground or in the air. At least you get a nice crosswind...Apollo 13 may also work for this metaphor, but a lot more sophistication goes into engineering a craft stuck in space.
At least discussions are happening and trade talks are picking back up (Pacioretty being shopped). That leads nicely to “the bad” of the scenario. Free agents are in limbo, and every new contract adds to the deficit. (All the numbers being crunched are no longer relevant with any new signings). GMs who are in “cap hades” are preparing themselves for a very uncomfortable scenario (often involving a barrel of some kind). That’s good for Detroit, but bad decisions are going to be made. The other bad? The extra two weeks of training camp the 7 teams who missed out on the post season were promised has been revoked. Training camp will now be, for everyone, two weeks and no exhibition games. Yikes. All the “hammering out details” completely derailed the much needed acclimation of players who will now go nearly 10 months without playing in an NHL game. That, friends, is the “ugly”
All the way back to the summer, I’ve debated the frightening reality of players with this much time away from the sport. Some teams have only been out of action for a few months, but that breakup seems far less damaging. Even the teams that were out after the play in round still had an important breakup in the off ice shutdown. Off ice training is really important in the summer, but the current layoff for Detroit is worrisome. I don’t doubt that many players are in fantastic shape, but it’s inevitable that some players will hit the ice in less than ideal form (there may well be a hotdog stand in Arizona that posted record sales during the shutdown).
I’m hoping short shifts, limited travel and increased post game therapy will help Detroit players stay healthy through the shortened season. Some players may well have had time to heal up (Dekeyser, Mantha) from nagging injuries. Regardless, there is reason to hope. Teams and players are planning on hitting the ice. The season itself is going to be bizarre. Teams who start hot and cool off in the last stretch will have a much stronger showing. Could Toronto find itself in the finals against Tampa Bay or Washington in the east? So many interesting options, but more than anything, a return to hockey. That would be a welcome change of pace.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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