There are a lot of ideas and considerations being thrown around in an attempt to continue the 2019-20 NHL season, but it could benefit some more than others.
Business, revenue, and all other off-ice dealings aside, it seems the bulk of players are aching to return to the rink for a true conclusion to the campaign, whether it remains an elongated, 82-game season with playoffs, or merely a tweaked format.
By now, every player and all 31 teams will be well-rested, perhaps too well-rested. Several teams remain in contention for the playoffs while others fight for home ice; being able to return refocused and healthy will benefit some teams more than others.
Colorado Avalanche
Prior to the hiatus, the Avalanche were dealing with injuries to Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri, Joonas Donskoi, and more. That is a noticeable chunk of players.
Now, despite the lack of access to free time on the rink, the extra rest should allow them to return in the middle of the playoff push and compete at the level of a Stanley Cup contender.
Toronto Maple Leafs
In a similar yet smaller boat than the Avalanche, the Leafs will likely see rookie Ilya Mikheyev return alongside second-year forward Andreas Johnsson, giving them their first look at a healthy roster this season (ignoring potential salary cap compliance issues).
Going into the playoffs with a rested, youthful team will add speed and hunger to the young core. That will go a long way in squeezing the most juice out of this team with the hard decisions looming in the summer to remain cap compliant and competitive.
St. Louis Blues
Another team facing great upside to the mid-season hiatus is the defending Stanley Cup champions. Winning the Cup means a shortened and party-driven offseason. Coincidentally, the reduced healing time, altered training time, and resultant hangover take a toll. Still, the Blues have remained steady atop the Central Division.
They have done it all without star winger Vladimir Tarasenko. But now the forward has had a prolonged recovery from his shoulder injury and is likely to be 100 percent upon the restart of the 2019-20 season. Adding a massive goal-scorer to a division-leading team will certainly help in the fight for a repeat championship.
For some individuals, a definite conclusion to the season is much more important.
Alex Ovechkin
Chasing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals mark, Ovechkin is facing the loss of another 13 games and as FloHockey has pointed out, every bit matters. Sitting at 706 career goals with 48 markers in 68 games, those 13 contests are the difference of another 50-goal campaign and the potential for another six or seven goals towards Gretzky’s 894.
Hot & Cold Starters
Every October fans watch the proverbial hot and cold starts of some of the league’s biggest names. Purely based on end-of-season metrics, Nikita Kucherov’s early-season pace is far lower than his end-of-season rate. A restart to the 2019-20 season could mean another bout of getting up to speed. Some other notoriously slow starters are Tyler Seguin, Anze Kopitar, and Henrik Lundqvist.
On the flip side, a restart to the season would go a long way in production for some players that start off hot. Some names include Matt Duchene, Auston Matthews, and Anthony Mantha. Another round of hot starts for the former two would support their teams’ playoff pushes and runs.
Rasmus Dahlin
It's not always about the money, but it is a perk to be paid handsomely to play the game you love. For Buffalo Sabres defenseman and the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, a top-10 finish in defensive assists earns him a nice performance bonus. But as mentioned, every bit matters, and money adds up fast in the face of the salary cap.
Every General Manager
The annual forfeiture of prospects and draft picks at the deadline saw some teams add to their roster for the playoff push, only to have the season halted soon after. It sparked a rumor that some general managers even inquired with the league about compensatory draft picks for deadline acquisitions.
Deadline talk aside, each GM faces trade-off, signings, the draft, and the need for salary cap compliance every summer. Kyle Dubas, the GM of the aforementioned Maple Leafs, will have a lot of tough choices in potential trades and expiring contracts as he does his best to keep the team competitive. It will be the same for Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois and many others across the league.
Add in the rumor of an unaltered salary cap and it will be the first time since the inception of the rule in 2004-05 that the salary cap has not increase during an offseason (under a pro-rating of the 2012-13 season). If that is the case, money just got a little tighter in negotiations and extensions already signed got a little bigger.
Much remains to be seen (hopefully on the ice) in regards to the NHL’s conclusion of the 2019-20 season.
Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.