The NHL hopes to resume play next Monday with a full slate of games, but some of those tilts are cross-border affairs between teams from the U.S. and Canada.
So it’s fair to wonder if those games will take place.
Also, many teams could still be heavily COVID-depleted coming out of the Christmas pause. The NHL could mitigate that by shortening the down time for asymptomatic players who have tested positive for the virus, but we’ll have to see what the league does.
Given the strict pandemic protocols in the Great White North, the NHL may be forced to take drastic action to get those seven teams through the season.
Could we see an impromptu return of the North Division for scheduling purposes at least? At this time, all things must be on the table.
But what we do know is that lots of hockey has already been played. Here is how we assess the league to this point:
The Central Division is a scramble. The Colorado Avalanche got beat up in the first third of the season, but they remain the team to beat on this side of the league. The will have games in hand coming out of the break and all of their injury/illness hits have helped them build more depth.
The Minnesota Wild started fast, but they showed some serious slippage right before the break. The Blues used their Russian-fueled surge to climb back up the division ladder after a lengthy lull.
Who would have guessed that Vladimir Tarasenko would be one of the league's MVP's this season while wearing the Blue Note?
The mish-mash Nashville Predators have been a pleasant surprise, but the talented Winnipeg Jets have been an unpleasant one – and that inspired coach Paul Maurice to step down.
Both the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks are caught between needing to rebuild and wanting to win while they still have cornerstone veterans in their lineup.
And the Arizona Coyotes are god-awful, as expected.
The Pacific Division has a new pecking order. The Vegas Golden Knights have ruled, as expected, despite suffering massive casualties along the way. At some they will get newcomer Jack Eichel in the mix, so they will be the runaway favorite to play for the Western Conference title.
The Edmonton Oilers started fast, but then they hit a rut because of leaky goaltending and a suspect defensive corps. The Anaheim Ducks' rebuild is starting to pay off with budding stars Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale leading the way, but the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings are trapped between starting over and trying to win with high-paid, twilight-year veterans.
Given that, the Darryl Sutter-led Calgary Flames should seize a playoff spot. So could the resurgent Vancouver Canucks, who have responded quite well to new coach Bruce Boudreau.
As for the Seattle Kraken . . . hey, nice sweaters!
The Eastern Conference features a big divide. The gulf between the haves (Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins) and everybody else is huge.
We’re not saying the playoff bracket on that side of the league set, but it’ll take a big surprise to knock one of those teams out of postseason play. The Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils have been especially disappointing.
The New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens crashed and burned after making deep playoff runs last season. The Islanders were derailed by a 13-game road trip to start the season (due to their arena construction) and COVID/injury issues.
Various calamities befell the Habs, with captain Shea Weber succumbing to multiple injuries, Carey Price exiting to deal with off-ice issues, the loss of No. 2 center Phillip Danault in the offseason, Cole Caufield’s rookie flop and a host of COVID/injury issues.
Now that franchise faces a long-haul rebuild under new team president Jeff Gorton.
Given all the mayhem, we could see an unusual amount of player movement ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Teams will continue making waiver claims at a high rate to fill COVID/injury holes and teams with depth, like the Blues, will have to handle their assets carefully.
With so many teams fading from the playoff race before the halfway point of the season, we could see some general managers get a head start on their fire sale.
Here are some things to watch:
How will the Golden Knights create salary cap space to activate Eichel from long-term injured reserve during the New Year?
If goaltender Tuukka Rask returns to the Bruins as expected, how will the team handle his comeback from surgical repairs with a pretty good tandem already in place?
With the Coyotes willing to sell off any and all assets, which team will rescue potential defensive cornerstone Jakob Chychrun from that dumpster fire?
Will interim coaches Andrew Brunette (Florida), Mike Yeo (Philadelphia), Dave Lowry (Winnipeg) and Derek King (Chicago) win enough to keep their gigs going forward?
The Blackhawks, Canadiens, Ducks and Canucks are all searching to fill key front office roles after firing their general manager. It sounds like new Canucks president Jim Rutherford is the most aggressive shopper at the moment.
