NHL floats opening next season outdoors at Lake Louise

The NHL has mandated a flat salary cap. But it’s also thinking of mountains.

With the off-season in full swing after the two-day draft and Friday’s opening of free agency, the league is already turning its attention to next season, with a tentative start date of Jan. 1.

According to an industry source who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, Alberta’s Lake Louise — with its famous Rocky Mountain backdrop — has been discussed internally as a possible location for opening day.

The discussions are in the preliminary stage and the Lake Louise outdoor game scenario, while postcard beautiful, would face several hurdles, starting with the state of the COVID-19 pandemic when play resumes. It’s also a popular destination even in troubled times, which could make booking hotels in the area around Christmastime a challenge.

The league — which has staged outdoor games on New Year’s Day since 2008 — is going full throttle to prepare for a potential New Year’s Day launch, canvassing teams on COVID protocols, the possibility of limited live crowds in certain cities, and the availability of hotel rooms close to arenas.

It’s believed that several schedule options have been presented to the NHL Players’ Association for discussion: 48 games, 60 games and a full 82-game slate.

The Summer Olympics is one key factor. With Olympics rightsholder NBC also the U.S. carrier for the NHL, the thinking is that any season would have to wrap up before the rescheduled Tokyo Games are slated to open on July 23. A Canada Day finish to the Stanley Cup final has a nice ring, but would leave just 181 days for an 82-game season plus playoffs.

The NHLPA will have a player committee review all scenarios as the off-season progresses. At the outset, the league and players agree on one thing: that the schedule should include as many games as possible.

The shorter season options, however, would give the league greater flexibility to manage challenges such as COVID-19 spikes and protocol changes by local governments.

A crucial element, no matter how many games they play, is whether fans will be in the stands.

The league lost more than a billion dollars in revenue this past season, and it’s believed live crowds, even at less than capacity, is a must for the season to begin.

It took creative approaches — with secure bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton and in other areas — for the league to complete the playoffs and crown a champion despite major challenges.

It will take more of that creativity over the coming weeks to come up with a safe, viable way to start next season with North America still in the grips of the pandemic.