An announced crowd of 18,110 fans watched the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night. That’s 18,110 more fans than attended their home opener on Jan. 13 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amalie Arena, and 18,110 more fans than saw them raise last season’s Stanley Cup in the Edmonton, Alberta, bubble on Sept. 26, 2020.
The end of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs in Tampa, Florida, was symbolic in its normalcy. It wasn’t completely idyllic. There were a few masks worn during the championship ceremony. The media, friends and family were absent from the ice. Postgame news conferences were again held over Zoom, which luckily was able to connect with Nikita Kucherov on whatever plane of existence he was living on after Game 5.
Compare the finale of the season to the start of the season, and there was undeniable optimism that we might be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic season behind us. The vaccines have rolled out as the restrictions on capacity — at least in the U.S. — have eased. As variants run through the Greek alphabet around the world, we’re not out of this pandemic yet. But it sure doesn’t feel like January any longer.
But just because we’re past a pandemic season doesn’t mean we should ignore its lessons or, in some cases, the adjustments made to the NHL during trying times.
Here’s a look at what can go and what stay from the 2020-21 pandemic season.
Go: All-Canadian division
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The closed Canadian border necessitated the creation of the North Division for this season, resulting in offensive star turns, specious defense, two coaching changes and seemingly every team getting at least one memorable win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But just like binging “The Floor Is Lava” and making your own sourdough bread, the All-Canadian Division will be a relic of these uncertain times. It was like a separate nation (literally!) that was too far removed from the other three divisions.
And if we’re being honest, it’s not necessarily in the NHL’s best marketing interests to have a Canadian team seeded in the final four every single postseason. Because it’s not always going to be an Original Six team that receives that 1-in-4 chance to win the Stanley Cup.
Stay: Reseeded final four
We missed our best chance to have the Boston Bruins face off against the Montreal Canadiens or the Maple Leafs for the Stanley Cup in the pandemic season, as they all go back to being one big happy Atlantic Division family next season.
But breaking the conference format for the third round and the Stanley Cup Final remains a wonderful concept. It gives added emphasis to finishing first overall in the regular season and opens the door to any number of intra-conference matchups for the Stanley Cup — including that Boston vs. Toronto series, depending on how the wild cards work out.
Go: Divisional playoffs
The only thing the NHL loves more than its on-ice officials is “parity.” It’s at the heart of countless decisions by the league, from the salary cap on down to the draft lottery. Hence, taking the top four teams from each division isn’t going to work, going forward.
Sure, it feeds the league’s other addiction to rivalries, as battles between long-standing adversaries and geographic turf wars are a natural outcome of a divisional playoff format. But it also eliminates those additional paths to the postseason that a conference playoff format or the wild card provide. More playoff races, more engaged fans, more excitement.
There are certainly other ways to seed the playoffs than the current model — and playoff expansion, as you know, is a plank in my platform — but essentially the NHL has it right: The more teams involved in a playoff race, the better.
Stay: ‘Homestand’ schedules
The absolute easiest call on what should carry over from the pandemic season. Having teams play multigame “homestands” against the same rival increases the important things — the skates between division rivals, the animosity between teams — while decreasing travel, thus saving money and making the regular season a little less hectic for the players.
It’s a format that was championed for years by Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews, and now it has proof of concept. The recent NHLPA poll found that 66% of the players said they’d like to see the “homestand” scheduling continue on. And it should.
Go: Varying degrees of audio quality
The hockey media is sick of Zoom news conferences, and it looks like we might be done with them next season, as the locker rooms theoretically reopen to scribes and television cameras. But if the video conferences have to keep happening, can we assign someone from the NHL to assess and improve the audio/visual setups and Internet capabilities of reporters? Perhaps even have some training seminars?
I know we’re all at different levels of technological capability and Wi-Fi strengths, but there’s nothing sadder than the look on a coach or player’s face when having to sheepishly ask to have a question repeated because it sounded like it was being asked under a pile of pillows or because the questioner had more feedback than a Foo Fighters concert.
Stay: Occasional Zooming
While we all want to be done with the Zooming, maybe we … keep some of it? The media landscape continues to shift wildly after the pandemic. Not every publication can send reporters to every game on the road. Hockey writers from digital subscription platforms — or that have transitioned to Substack and the like — were able to participate in availabilities hundreds of miles away with a click of a button.
The NHL needs to do everything it can to encourage widespread, quality coverage of its product. Holding videoconference availability with select players and the head coach could certainly help. Or, failing that, just make sure to continue having Nikita Kucherov doing them, preferably after happy hour.
Go: Paperless tickets
Digital tickets are here to stay. There’s no going back. We all understand this and we all have learned to accept this. I just wish there were more alternatives for paper tickets — or at least owning a paper ticket version of your game ticket.
Call it saccharine nostalgia or “old man shakes fist at cloud” fuddy-duddy-ism, but there was a real joy to having a hard copy ticket collection, or even just seeing which player was featured on your ticket that night. Again: I accept it’s a paperless world, as long as you accept that I still have my 1995 Game 4 New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup ticket stub. Somewhere.
Stay: Grab-and-go food
Arenas have developed ways for fans to have “no-contact” concession purchases at games. One of the innovations is the “grab-and-go” concept, specifically with beer. You select what you want, show some ID and then head to the pay station and off you go.
They’ve had these things at airports forever, and now they’re finally in hockey arenas, so the majority of your life during intermission isn’t spent in the bathroom line and the beverage line (that will send you back to the bathroom line eventually).
Go: Coaches ‘wearing’ masks
The NHL should fine Ducharme for this. Every time the camera pans to him, he’s got his mask off. pic.twitter.com/Nth48D1h94
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) March 21, 2021
One assumes the COVID-19 protocols will be less stringent next season, as they were already relaxed for vaccinated players and team personnel during the season.
But when it comes to coaches on the bench — look, either they wear the mask or they don’t. Masks that were worn like chin diapers, coaches that defeat the entire purpose of having a mask by pulling it down to yell over the players on the bench … ugh.
Again, hopefully this isn’t an issue next season. Because in trying to create good optics, the NHL’s masked-up coaches frequently do the opposite.
Stay: Caring more about everyone’s mental health
Finally, my biggest hope for what we learned after this pandemic season: That the players deserve our support and understanding when it comes to their mental health.
Their struggles were well-documented during the pandemic, including in this excellent piece by my colleague Emily Kaplan. I was encouraged by how much support players such as Robin Lehner received, and how much respect and distance Toews was given as he dealt with his own health challenges.
I’m always encouraged when I see players willing to discuss their mental health in a sport that all too often treats these commonplace struggles as a sign of weakness. That stigma needs to be shattered, and I believe there has been some progress here in the past year.
Hopefully, we keep moving forward on this. Because at least something positive needs to come out of this debilitating, deflating, emotionally devastating year.
Jersey Foul of the week
From the Stanley Cup Final:
Now this is a fan 🔵⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/2BrMSMDwOu
— Tony Marinaro (@TonyMarinaro) July 5, 2021
Not sure if we’ve had a “Prayer to the Hockey Gods” Jersey Foul before. Please don’t let its complete and utter failure to influence the result of the series deter you from throwing away a couple hundred dollars next time your team is facing elimination. Think about how people tried to scale Mount Everest before the summit was reached. Same energy.
Three things about NHL draft prospects
1. Gotta love Luke Hughes’ absolutely unsubtle courtship of the New Jersey Devils to select him fourth overall and unite him with brother Jack. “I mean, my brother clearly wants me to be there. It would be super cool to play with him,” he said. “I know Jack loves it in NJ. Really cool rink. Really cool fan base.” And then he ate a Taylor Ham, egg and cheese, played boardwalk Skee-Ball and started humming Springsteen songs.
2. My favorite prospect the NHL trotted out for media availability this week was Mason McTavish of Peterborough in the OHL. The Draft Analyst said that “violence and aggression are just two of several commonplaces in your typical McTavish shift.” He took it in stride when he was compared to Ryan Getzlaf. He’s also been compared to Ryan O’Reilly, too. Not too shabby.
3. I’m not saying Michigan’s Matthew Beniers looks mature for his age, but he’s actually only two years away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency in the NHL.
Matthew Beniers looks like he’s 18 in “actor on The CW” years. pic.twitter.com/8d27sOjFCo
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) July 6, 2021
Winners and losers of the week
Winner: Nikita Kucherov
“The fans in Montreal acted like they won the Stanley Cup last game. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Their final was last round.”
Just an incredible press conference from Nikita Kucherov here.#ItsOn | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/rmaNrCQVHB
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 8, 2021
We’ve referenced it a few times already, but Kucherov single-handedly redeemed over a year of Zoom news conferences with one drunken ramble. He walked in wearing the official uniform of Florida Man: no shirt, backwards hat, Bud Light. He provided comedy gold for several minutes, from mocking a reporter’s microphone to a full-throated defense of Andrei Vasilevskiy as the league’s best goalie, mocking Marc-Andre Fleury and Connor Hellebuyck being selected as Vezina Trophy winners. Post-Stanley Cup news conference Nikita Kucherov is like if someone gave Alex Ovechkin red kryptonite.
Loser: Montreal fans
OK, so first they have to watch 18,000 people in Amalie Arena in Tampa during the Stanley Cup Final while their province restricts Bell Centre access to a couple thousand people. Then they have to watch their team get eliminated by the Lightning in five games. Then they have Kucherov dunk on them in his news conference: “The fans in Montreal, come on. They acted like they won the Stanley Cup last game. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Their final was last series.”
Winner: First-timers’ big day
What lovely hockey kismet to have David Savard getting the primary assist on Ross Colton‘s game-winning goal in Game 5, the lone goal scored in the game. They were the only two Lightning players in that game without a Stanley Cup ring.
Loser: Brendan Gallagher‘s worst day
Via Gallagher on TikTok, it appears a Stanley Cup dream wasn’t the only thing robbed from him this week. This is just terrible. Your heart goes out to the guy.
Winner: Ryan McDonagh
Was there another player whose stock rose higher in the Final than the Lightning defenseman’s did? He had three assists in the series, including a helper on the lone goal in Game 5. He was a plus-7. He ended up getting three third-place votes for the Conn Smythe, ahead of Brayden Point and Carey Price!
Loser: Conspiracy theories
Vasilevskiy is 5 pounds heavier than Price but somehow looks like he’s pregnant with quintuplets. pic.twitter.com/nDyyZ1c3sZ
— Eric Macramalla (@EricMacramalla) July 8, 2021
So after going through all the “Tampa Bay Lightning: salary-cap cheaters” machinations, I see we’ve moved onto “Andrei Vasilevskiy: illegal equipment guy” based on some photos taken after Game 5. As former NHL goalie Eddie Lack said in his debunking, “It’s just a preference on how to wear it. Price tucks his chest protector while Vasy doesn’t. They are both legal FYI, so stop complaining.”
Winner: Hurricanes
Kudos to Hurricane Elsa for holding off on the day of Game 5, despite some dire warnings about the weather before Wednesday in Tampa. As an aside: It was interesting to see how some of the Canadians visiting Florida for the game reacted to an impending tropical storm-turned-hurricane; and by that I mean they were totally panicked. Again, a rule of thumb: If the locals aren’t boarding up the windows, it’s probably going to be OK.
Loser: Red Wings and Sabres
Despite not having, you know, a roster yet, the expansion Seattle Kraken have better Stanley Cup odds than Detroit and Buffalo. And that’s not just the “Golden Knights Effect.”
Puck headlines
In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN
Emily Kaplan has reported extensively on the tragic death of Matiss Kivlenieks, including this report on the team’s reaction to his loss.