Fate of AHL's 2020-21 Season Remains Hanging In The Balance
While the American Hockey League's (AHL) Return to Play Task Force has had to proverbially sit and wait for the NHL to finalize their plans for the 2020-21 season, the time leading up to the NHL's release of information on their return to play hasn't been spent idling by.
"In talking to [AHL President/CEO] Scott Howson, they've got models made. They have, I believe, scheduling made - all waiting for the NHL to drop their plans, "Larry Landon, Executive Director of the Professional Hockey Players Association (PHPA), said on a recent appearance earlier this week on the Around The A podcast. "Now that that's in place, I think the AHL is going to move fairly quickly."
The AHL's Return To Play Task Force, headed by the now former longstanding league President/CEO Dave Andrews, is scheduled to meet again on Saturday, the day after Christmas, where the expectation is that the 13-member committee aims to finalize a return to play plan in advance of the league's Board of Governors (BoG) meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Dec 30.
That BoG meeting, according to Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon's comments in a recent Facebook Live chat with fans, will likely be a vote on plans for the 2020-21 season.
The AHL's anticipated start date of February 5th for the 2020-21 season remains the target, and while numerous AHL owners, executives and those close to the situation continue to say that all 31 teams want to play the fact of the matter is that it's more than possible that some of the league's teams might not be able to participate in the upcoming season.
As of Christmas Day, there aren't any confirmed reports - or even outsourced rumors - that an AHL team is closing up shop and waiting for the 2021-22 season. Of course, that can change as soon as Saturday after the AHL's RTP Task Force meets or next week after the league's BoG meeting provides further information.
"The initial word from the AHL, and it continues to be, is the fact that all teams want to play," Landon said on the Around the A podcast earlier this week. "They have to find a way to play. Those 12 independent teams, without fans, are going to be a little gun-shy. I think everyone is working with their NHL parent to make this happen."
Landon also said there has been talk recently on the potential of split-teams in the AHL this season, where NHL teams would share affiliates in an attempt to further reduce costs. Landon followed that up by saying no such talks have been had formally with the AHL on that matter prior to Christmas.
In terms of scheduling, InsideAHLHockey.com first reported over the summer that the AHL's RTP committee had long been focusing on a strictly regional schedule. In a 1-on-1 interview with Lehigh Valley Phantoms co-owner, and member of the AHL RTP, Jim Brooks said, "One thing we've discussed is looking at a modification to our schedule as far as playing more regionally, especially at the beginning of the season."
While the initial thought was that the regional play would be necessary at the start of the season, the NHL's schedule release of back-to-backs and only divisional play for their 2020-21 season suggests the AHL's schedule will likely mirror that format for the entirety of their schedule.
As for how many games a 2020-21 AHL season might entail? It depends on who you ask, and as I understand it the league has several different models at play so it's possible the discrepancies in the numbers out there i.e. Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon saying the feeling they share with Tampa Bay is a more light, two-games a week 26-32 game schedule to minimize costs, or the Athletic's Corey Pronman reporting the league is looking at a 44-game schedule. Or even PHPA Executive Director Larry Landon telling the Around the A Podcast that players want to play as many games as possible and that 46-56 games is possible.
In regards to an AHL postseason and whether or not a Calder Cup champion will be crowned in a shortened 2020-21 season, Landon told the Around the A Podcast that there's talk the AHL wants to mirror the NHL's schedule and have a shortened postseason, but that there are also concerns with that in wrapping things up too late into the summer.
To overstate the obvious, there is still plenty left to be decided & voted upon before anything can be announced by the AHL regarding the 2020-21 season.
There are certainly plenty of paths, as well as obstacles in the way, that the AHL will have to navigate through if they want to pull off a successful return to play this season.
Hopefully, that path for the AHL will be a little more clear as the calendar year ends and we shift ahead to January 1, 2021.
Editor's Note: To listen to the full interview with Larry Landon for more of his thoughts on the AHL's situation, check out the Around The A Podcast with hosts David Foot (@FootyOnTheAir) and Patrick Williams (@pwilliamsNHL).
