Colorado Avalanche: Cancel the Season vs. Summer Hockey
The Colorado Avalanche have such a good chance at winning the Stanley Cup this year. Would it be so bad to see summer hockey?
The Colorado Avalanche are three weeks into the hockey hiatus. If the NHL hadn’t had to put the 2019-20 season on pause, the team would be getting ready to play the last game of the regular season. They were set to host the St. Louis Blues tomorrow.
This was going to be an important game. The Avalanche have been chasing the Blues all season long. For pretty much the whole season, they’ve been two points behind St. Louis with a game in hand. Well, tomorrow was supposed to be Game 82 for both teams with maybe the Western Conference championship to be decided.
Instead, we’re all in limbo. While minor and collegiate leagues have outright canceled the remainder of their season, the NHL has not done so. They’ve stated they want to preserve the season as long as it’s feasible. They want to award the Stanley Cup in a meaningful way.
The idea is that teams will be playing for the Stanley Cup late in the summer, in August or maybe even September. Naturally, the start of the 2020-21 season would have to be delayed to allow players time to rest. Some people suggest the NHL should just call the season cancelled.
Interestingly, fans are on the fence on that topic according to a recent poll:
If you had a choice to finish the season/playoffs in August...or go directly to the '20-'21 Season. What would you do?
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) April 3, 2020
The responses were almost split right down the middle for finishing the current season and preparing for the new one. Obviously, it all depends on how the global pandemic plays out. However, imagine the season could resume in June or July — would you want it to?
I think as Colorado Avalanche fans, we absolutely want to see this season continue. The Avs are playing meaningful hockey. They have a legitimate chance to win it all this season.
More from Mile High Sticking
- Could Colorado Avalanche move on from Pavel Francouz next offseason?
- 4 goalies to replace Pavel Francouz if he has to miss time
- Colorado Avalanche make sneaky signing with Tatar
- Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could return in 2023-24 playoffs
- Colorado Avalanche rookie face-off tournament roster
Another factor is our superstar. Nathan MacKinnon is still young at 24. He has many years ahead of him. However, you only get so many kicks at the can. If you take this, his best year yet, away from him, it just seems so unfair.
Speaking of unfair, another matter is those teams who went all-in at the trade deadline. Colorado didn’t give up much — just Calle Rosen for Michael Hutchinson and a fourth-rounder for Vladislav Namestnikov. However, teams gave up assets for a win-now situation.
On the flip side, people question how good the hockey will be when players return from their self-quarantine. Most of them can’t train even as well as the do in the summer. They’re not going to be game-ready right away. There is a case for just letting them heal and take up training when it’s safe to do so.
Matt Larkin of The Hockey News shows an interesting perspective. He asks which was more painful — the two seasons (1994-95, 2012-13) where the NHL only played 48 games because of lockouts or the lost 2004-05 season when no games were played.
As he points out, the loss of an entire season hurts worse than a truncated season. He proposes finishing this season no matter how late and shorten next season.
Next. Considering a 24-Team Playoff Scenario. dark
I agree with Larkin’s thinking. I’m not ready to call this season over. It’s already been fraught with highs and lows. I want to see it play out, even if it means teams are playing hockey in August in empty buildings.
The Colorado Avalanche deserve their chance at the Stanley Cup.