Fansided

Toronto Maple Leafs: Season Unlikely to Resume for Minimum of 2 Months

By James Tanner |
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Mikey Anderson #44 of the Los Angeles Kings skates against Denis Malgin #62 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Staples Center on March 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Mikey Anderson #44 of the Los Angeles Kings skates against Denis Malgin #62 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Staples Center on March 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in what could very well be the last game of their season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs season was put on hold last week when the NHL indefinitely postponed the rest of the season (and playoffs) in response to the current pandemic.

There has been speculation about when or if the season would resume, but at this point it appears to be a minimum of a 2 month hiatus.

Last night the USA Centre for Disease Control (CDC) announced a recommendation of eight weeks without gatherings of more than 50 people.

This effectively ends the NHL season, although I supposed there is always a chance that the league tries some kind of tournament to award a Stanley Cup later in the summer.

NHL Off for a Minimum Two Months

Two months from now takes us to roughly the middle of May.

It would take another three months to finish the season and playoffs if every game was played.  That would end the season in mid August, which would mean it can’t be done.

Therefore, assuming the NHL won’t defy the CDC (and it would be an abhorrent dereliction of public responsibility if they did) at least some of the remaining season is pretty much guaranteed to be canceled, and what (if anything) is played will be done with extreme changes.

Elliotte Friedman had an update regarding the NHL’s contingency plans.

This would mean the NHL resumes two months from now.  In that case – and it appears to be a best case scenario – there would be a short training camp, then (one assumes) some kind of playoff tournament, with, one assumes, some form of play-in.

This is all very interesting, but very preliminary. We simply do not know what is going to happen in the next day, let alone weeks.

One thing that we know will not happen is playing games without fans.  It just isn’t possible to have an NHL hockey game with less than 50 people.

There are 20 players per side, four referees and two head coaches.  Goal judges, camera operators, assistant coaches, statisticians, league officials, and medical staff.

It just can’t be done.

Next. Leafs Top 10 Prospects. dark

As to the idea that some kind of training camp will open in 45 days…..I get that the NHL has to prepared in case that is possible, but it looks to be extremely unlikely based on what has happened in places like Italy.

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