No one knows whether hockey (or any other sport) will be played again this season, of course, let alone what form the Stanley Cup playoffs might take if they are held. That figures to be determined by if/when medical authorities give their approval for such activities.
In the meantime, NHL officials have been informally checking with some people inside the game, but not on the league payroll, to gauge their feelings on a variety of subjects relating to the current shutdown, and what might follow it.
And because these are extraordinary times, some ideas that are far outside parameters of standard procedure appear to have turned up in the conversations.
One topic that has come up is how to pick the teams that would qualify for the postseason. Because not all clubs have played the same number of games -- eight have had 71, while the Hurricanes and Islanders have been in just 68 -- there is considerable sentiment to pick playoff teams on the basis of winning percentage.
The idea of dropping the results of all games after No. 68 and using points totals also has been kicked around at least a little, although it's not clear how seriously it is being considered or how much support such a radical concept would have among team officials and fans.
(Especially fans of clubs that would be dropped from the top eight in their conference under that formula.)
Having some teams that would be excluded from the playoffs in a normal season compete in "play-in" games to get into the postseason field seems to be quite popular in some quarters, but one individual who spoke with league officials pointed out that after most teams had been idle for an extended period, the one coming out of a "play-in" game would have a major advantage over one that finished above it in the standings but hadn't had the opportunity to remove some of the rust that builds up after a long layoff.
That, apparently, is an aspect of "play-in" plans that hadn't gotten serious, if any, consideration.
All of it is pretty compelling evidence of how the NHL is trying to find its way through a landscape that not many imagined just a few weeks ago.
MORE PENGUINS
• Matt Murray making four starts in the five games leading up to the suspension of the NHL season suggests the coaching staff was going to give him every opportunity to get his game back to the highest possible level and re-establish himself as the team's go-to goaltender as the playoffs approached. How having the league go on hold will affect those plans -- and every other one the Penguins might have had -- is impossible to predict, of course, but Mike Sullivan obviously hasn't forgotten the role Murray played in the team's championship runs in 2016 and 2017. -- Molinari
• Former Penguins forward, broadcaster and coach Eddie Olczyk, who spoke to our site candidly about the NHL shutdown this week, also gave an update on his personal health. He was sidelined for much of the 2017-18 season while being treated for Stage 3 colon cancer but said that his checkups since have been good and that he is scheduled to undergo a scan in May to make sure he remains free of the disease. -- Molinari
• The day before the NHL's season was put on pause, meaning eight days ago in Columbus when the Penguins and Blue Jackets had been formally set to play in front of an empty Nationwide Arena, the Penguins had put out their own announcement that their Sunday home game against the Islanders would be played in front of a normal crowd at PPG Paints Arena. I'm told from within the team that had quietly changed before the Penguins and Blue Jackets -- and all NHL games -- were quashed. Meaning there's a point in the plan where it'd been official that the Penguins were supposed to have played in Pittsburgh with an attendance of zero. Can't help but wonder, at least playfully, if that would've ended the sellout streak. -- Dejan Kovacevic
• Some fans, coaches, and athletes have been calling for the NCAA to grant an extra year of eligibility to winter athletes after their postseasons ended due to the coronavirus outbreak. Jon Rothstein reported earlier this week that the NCAA is unlikely to grant the extra year of eligibility to winter athletes. Former Penn State forward Chase Berger, now with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, explained to me why he doesn't think the extra year of eligibility should be granted. "I think it'd be nice for those guys, but then what about the incoming recruits? The scholarships?" Berger said. "Unfortunately I think you're just going to have to take the 'L' on that one. I hope they can help them out in some sort of way, but I think it would just get too complicated, at least for hockey, if you try to give them another year. Logistically I think it'd just be such a nightmare with scholarships, recruits, incoming freshman. In an ideal world, nobody loses out and everybody makes stuff up. I don't know if that's in the cards." -- Taylor Haase
STEELERS
• It was no coincidence Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for Mike Hilton, contacted Adam Schefter to let him know Hilton had received a second-round tender offer in the hour after B.J. Finney agreed to a contract to leave the Steelers for the Seahawks. Had Finney decided to take the Steelers' offer, it's unlikely Hilton would have received the offer. But the Steelers couldn't guarantee Finney a starting spot. The Seahawks could. The Steelers' offer to Finney was close to the two-year, $4-million deal -- which could be worth $9.5 million with some readily achievable incentives -- Finney got from the Seahawks. But the Steelers couldn't assure Finney he would have a starting job. It's really not their way of handling things. That left the Steelers enough money to tender Hilton at $3.2 million as a restricted free agent. -- Dale Lolley
• Teams that haven't changed coaches or had major overhauls in their scouting staffs are going to have a major advantage over their counterparts who have made changes. NFL teams who have new coaching staffs would have been permitted to start OTAs April 6. That won't happen now. Then again, neither will OTAs for teams that didn't have coaching changes -- which could have started April 20. Both are now off the table for teams because of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. The draft remains unchanged for the league. It will still be held April 23 through 25. Right now, rookie minicamps, which can begin May 8-11 are iffy. In fact, this season could wind up being like the 2011 lockout, where teams aren't able to hold rookie OTAs, an offseason program or minicamp before heading to training camp. That will make it more difficult for rookies to make an impact in 2020. -- Lolley
• Had a brief exchange with Ramon Foster after his retirement in which he confirmed, as I'd suspected, that he retired in part because he preferred to go out on his own terms rather than facing the indignity of having his career end on a cut. He was immensely proud of having made it as an NFL starter for nearly a decade despite being undrafted and, in turn, never getting cut. Which is only the most Ramon thing ever. -- DK
PIRATES
• Major League Baseball finally committed to compensating minor-league players during the shutdown Thursday. However, for players who send their baseball earnings back home to their families, that week in limbo between the start of the shutdown and MLB's announcement highlighted how differently minor-leaguers are treated compared to players on the 40-man roster. "We're definitely treated unfairly," one minor-leaguer told me. "Yes, we're living the dream, we're playing baseball for a living, but at the same time, is it worth living a dream when you can't even get by?" Last year, that player made $1,400 a month over a five-month season, so $7,000 in total. That's less than a major-league player making the league minimum earns in one series. That same player also said, "A lot of guys aren't upset that we aren't getting a lot of money. It's more, 'We want money to survive to make it to the major leagues.' If we can't even have money to survive, how do they expect us to be 100 percent to be able to perform?" --Alex Stumpf
• A shorter season would have a negative impact on the Pirates' player development efforts this year, especially in the minor leagues, but it could help the Major-League club. Going by FanGraphs' writer Dan Szymborski's ZiPS model, the Pirates only had a 0.8 percent chance of making the playoffs over a 162 game season, but a 7.1 percent chance in a 110-game campaign and a 13.4 percent chance if it's only 81 games. The only National League team to have their playoff odds increase more with the shorter schedule are the Rockies. While their odds still are not great, every NL Central team has a sub-40 percent chance of reaching the postseason, according to ZiPS. Like how the 2018 Pirates propelled themselves into the postseason discussion briefly by rattling off 11 wins in a row, one long winning steak could be all it takes for a surprise playoff team this season. -- Stumpf
• The Pirates and all 30 Major League Baseball teams contributed $1 million each toward a pool to pay part-time workers losing wages from lost games at their respective stadiums. Within that, cynics -- of which the franchise has just a few -- criticized the team for being part of a broader effort rather than stepping up individually. But I'm told by the team that such a plan was well underway before the MLB offices in New York reached out to coordinate the effort across the sport. What's more, Bob Nutting insisted that the Pirates' component would come directly from the team rather than from Pirates Charities in order to keep the latter's missions fully funded. -- DK
PITT
• Back in January, when Pitt lost to Syracuse at Carrier Dome, I was seated next to an NBA scout who told me Justin Champagnie captured his attention, even though he had heard more about Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson coming into the game. He liked what he saw from Champagnie on tape and in person, and there was no doubt he would keep tabs on the rest of Champagnie's freshman campaign. Fast-forward to the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., to end the season, and I'm again seated next to an NBA-level scout, this time an NBA Draft analyst for one of the biggest sports networks on the planet. Of course, I had to ask him what he thought of Pitt and their players moving forward, and he chuckled before simply saying, "That Champagnie is something, huh? What a year he's having." This was one day after Champagnie put up 31 in Round 1 of the tournament in Pitt's win over Wake Forest, so that's to be expected. Then, he echoed the scout in Syracuse, saying he expected more from both McGowens and Johnson this season but would not rule out their NBA futures. Hearing him tell it, they still have that opportunity. He'd like to see them both add more outside shooting first then play more controlled and composed. But Champagnie? He had a hard time pointing out a critical flaw in Champagnie's game. -- Hunter Homistek
• With McGowens officially transferring, the door is open for Ithiel Horton to take over as Pitt's starting two-guard in 2020-21. This, after listening to Jeff Capel and Horton's teammates gush about his skill set, was expected, and it undoubtedly helped make McGowens' decision to leave a little easier. Still, I've asked a few Pitt players about Horton after the season ended, and I keep hearing a variation of the same thing: "Ithiel is really good ... really good." -- Homistek
