AHL plans Feb. 5 start date

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/10/2020 (1970 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First, the good news. The American Hockey League is still planning for a 2021 season, announcing Wednesday they’re targeting a projected start date of Feb. 5.

Now, the bad news. COVID-19 doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. The Canada-U.S. border remains closed indefinitely to non-essential travel. The AHL desperately needs people in the rinks to make it work. And all of these things could make a new campaign nothing more than a pipe dream at this point. 

In other words, don’t dust off those antlers just yet, Manitoba Moose fans.

In a normal year, the AHL would be well underway, serving as the top developmental league to the NHL, with four Canadian markets (Manitoba, Toronto, Belleville and Laval) and 27 in the United States. But the global pandemic and ongoing restrictions regarding travel and crowd gatherings have wreaked havoc since mid-March. 

The original hope was to start on Dec. 4. But with the NHL not set to return until Jan. 1 at the earliest, more changes had to be made. 

“This gives us the best chance to have a significant season with fans in the building and we’ll just see what happens here in the next two months,’’ AHL president and CEO Scott Howson told The Associated Press on Wednesday.  “We’re going to be flexible and we’re going to do everything we can to play.’’

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly stated everything is on the table when it comes to his league, including both a full or reduced season, playing in empty rinks or in front of partial or eventually full crowds, and even realigning teams including a potential all-Canadian division. Approximately half of the NHL’s yearly revenues come from ticket sales, and they are delaying a decision as long as possible to continue assessing the situation along with government and health officials. 

The AHL relies much more heavily on fans, as they don’t have the same level of broadcast or sponsorship revenue pouring in to keep them solvent. Howson said Wednesday that multiple scenarios remain in play, including the possibility that not all of the 31 teams will be able to compete this season. Howson said the majority of AHL teams aren’t currently allowed to have spectators. 

With COVID-19 numbers growing in many markets, including here in Winnipeg, time is running out. Hub cities or bubble-type situations won’t fly in the AHL. But Howson didn’t rule out potential divisional realignment, which could include a Canadian division where Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton move their AHL teams north of the border this year (from their current homes in New York and California) to play against Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa’s affiliates. 

A task force has been struck to draft a scheduling proposal in the coming weeks, which will likely include heavy emphasis on divisional games by region, where teams would travel to a city and play each other two or three times before going to the next stop.

If the AHL can’t go, the big issue for NHL clubs will be finding a place for their prospects to play meaningful games. Many have assigned their young European players to club teams overseas. For the Winnipeg Jets, that includes familiar Moose players such as Kristian Vesalainen, Joona Luoto, Leon Gawanke and Mikhail Berdin. 

According to the AHL, nearly 90 per cent of current NHL players came through their league. 

The ECHL, which is a notch below the AHL and also relies heavily on fan revenues, plans to start its season Dec. 11, with only 13 of 26 teams initially participating owing to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg