As this unique version of the Stanley Cup playoffs enters the second round, it’s sobering to realize when it is concluded, we might not see the NHL for a long time.

That means we won’t see the Penguins play again for an extended period. Will Sidney Crosby lose a year (or more) of his remaining career because of the pandemic? It’s very possible.

The NHL derives roughly 37% of its total revenue from ticket sales. That’s compared to 27% for MLB, 22% for the NBA and 16% for the NFL.

Thanks to mammoth network contracts, the NFL can make a huge profit without selling any tickets. But the NHL loses considerable money. It can’t afford to be a made-for-TV product.

A half-house (or less) for the sake of social distancing won’t cut it, either. Selling a fraction of the tickets, even temporarily, would kill the Penguins. They need sellouts.

The question also begs: What happens if the NHL can sell tickets, and fans don’t buy them? The fear generated by covid will extend long past a return to mass gatherings being proclaimed safe, even if that proclamation is legitimate. Heck, when a vaccine is approved, lots of people will refuse to take it. Common sense and logic have been murdered by the echo chamber.

Even if the NHL could make it work financially sans ticket sales, the players won’t go back into a bubble. Not ever. Tuukka Rask leaving Boston in the lurch was a mere symptom. By all accounts, many players are miserable. Comments (mostly off the record) are leaking out.

If players are cracking after a month in the bubble, 82 games plus playoffs is out of the question. It won’t even be mooted, nor should it. A relatively brief sacrifice for the sake of completing a season is one thing. But that method can’t become a way of life.

Dec. 1 is being reported as a start date for the NHL’s 2020-21 season.

That’s a pipe dream. There’s zero chance. In the U.S., there is absolutely no end in sight to the pandemic. How could anyone see Dec. 1 as a realistic target date? (Unless the whole season is played in Canada. Go, Halifax Penguins!)

Yeah, I know: Everything changes after Nov. 3. That’s a pipe dream, too. You’ll be amazed by how little improves or even changes, and that’s regardless of who wins the election.

The only league immune to covid is the NFL. Bodies could pile up outside each team’s stadium, and the NFL will still play. It’s too big to fail. Too much money is involved. The NFL will finagle some level of attendance at most stadiums, whether that should or shouldn’t happen.

Will that open doors for other leagues? Perhaps. But Heinz Field seats 68,400. One-third capacity is 3,000 more than PPG Paints Arena holds.

I’m not hoping the NHL shuts down for a year, or more.

But I’m curious to see what happens if that’s perceived as a legit possibility.

Would players take gratuitous pay cuts to keep the league going? That would take trusting the owners to portray the financial situation accurately, and that’s quite a leap of faith. (Salaries might decline organically when, eventually, the salary cap plummets because of decreasing revenues. Next season’s cap is frozen at $81.5 million.)

Would players assume the peril of using the MLB model: Playing home and away in empty arenas, and taking the risk of travel? MLB has certainly experienced some pitfalls.

Or would the NHL just pack it in for months, maybe years?

I’m not trying to instill panic among hockey fans. We currently have far better inspiration available when it comes to panic.

But could the pandemic mean the end of the NHL, or perhaps a dramatic downsizing? That’s a far more realistic possibility than a new season starting Dec. 1.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)