Will the Hurricanes play again this season? There’s always hope
.jpg "Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas (88) holds off Detroit Red Wings center Robby Fabbri (14) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Detroit. The Hurricanes defeated the Red Wings 5-2. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)")
Everyone is hoping the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL will play hockey again this season, that at some point it’s safe enough to get back on the ice. Play games. Get back to normal.
That might be wishful thinking given the scope and the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. With so many every-day restrictions being enforced, in the U.S. and Canada, there may be no foreseeable way of resuming the 2019-20 season.
But there’s always hope ...
What if the COVID-19 crisis level eases to the point that games could be played, even initially without fans, by June or July and then the Stanley Cup playoffs held? And how might the Canes be affected?
The Canes would be back at full strength. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton, out since Jan. 16 with a broken fibula, should be back. Goalie James Reimer, injured Feb. 22, would be back and defenseman Sami Vatanen, on injured reserve when he was obtained in the Feb. 24 trade with New Jersey, should be ready and available.
The Canes (38-25-5) won their last three games before the March 12 league suspension and held the first wild-card playoff spot in the East. They had just gotten a nice offensive boost from rookie forward Morgan Geekie, who had three goals and an assist in his first two NHL games, road wins over Pittsburgh and Detroit. Goalie Petr Mrazek had returned from injury and in the net against the Red Wings on March 10 in the 5-2 win at Little Caesars Arena.
Something like a two-game regular-season finish — a warm-up for the playoffs — would be interesting, especially if the 2019-20 schedule is followed. The Canes are scheduled to close with a home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, then a road game at Boston. Even a one-game warmup could create a scramble for playoff positions in the Eastern Conference.
Several scenarios have been mentioned in the past week, including one to immediately begin the playoffs, in some fashion, with no warmup games. A 24-team format has been suggested, the seedings based on points percentage and the top four seeds — two from each division — joined by the winners of four play-in series in each conference.
Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said Friday that the NHL had asked for tentative PNC Arena dates stretching through the end of July. The NHL has said meetings are being held daily to consider all options.
Under the 24-team format, the Canes, for example, could be matched up against, say, the Florida Panthers in a play-in series.
Another proposal, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, would be the league blending the end of the 2019-20 season into the start of the 2020-21 season. Play some warmup games and begin the 2020 playoffs in August. Then begin the 2020-21 season in November after a month-long break for the draft, free agency and training camps.
All that is speculative, especially with many in the U.S. on a lockdown to try and slow the spread of the virus. One decision the NHL has made is to allow players to return home, including those from outside North America, where a player’s quarantine is to continue through March 27. Some of the Canes players have done that.
Those who have remained are not allowed to use the team’s facilities for workouts or practices. The NHL has said its objective was to potentially open a training-camp period roughly 45 days into the 60-day period recommended by the CDC’s March 15 directive about canceling gatherings of 50 or more people.
The NHL noted “world developments” could change that. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said the season would resume when it’s “prudent and safe.” There’s still no timetable on how long it might be before we reach that prudent-and-safe point.
“You just stay ready,” Canes owner Tom Dundon said when the NHL season was suspended on March 12. “We’re assuming at some point we’ll be back but you don’t know.”
