NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was on Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside's Two-Man Advantage podcast this week to discuss the NHL's response to the coronavirus outbreak and its plans for the future.
One of the biggest takeaways in discussing salvaging the remainder of the 2019-20 season is that whatever scenario the NHL comes up with, it will not result in a shortened 2020-21 season. Daly said that the 2020-21 season doesn't necessarily have to follow its normal timeline, though. The 2019-20 postseason could hypothetically run into late summer, and a full 2020-21 season could start in November.
"I'm not ruling anything out other than we're going to try to make decisions that preserve our ability to have a full season next year," he said.
Daly said that the league is inviting ideas from teams, managers, and owners for possible scenarios, and they're aiming to find a solution that is "fair, and has integrity," even if it "doesn't satisfy everybody."
Daly's appearance happened shortly after an undisclosed Senators player tested positive for the virus. At this point, Daly said that the NHL is only testing players who are symptomatic, and that was the case with the Senators player. Players who feel symptomatic report their symptoms to their team's medical staff, and only a "fairly small number" of players have been tested so far.
