League soldiers on despite looming financial losses

When the NHL charter flight back from the Edmonton bubble landed in New Jersey, Gary Bettman’s phone started ringing. The commissioner thought he’d get a couple of weeks to exhale after awarding the Stanley Cup to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead, it was back to work. Of course, planning for the 2021 season began well before late September. It took a long-term extension of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players’ union, layers of health and safety protocols, realigned divisions and convincing multiple government agencies that it is safe to play. The season opens Wednesday and Bettman estimates the league will lose more than $1 billion even by playing. It’s a gamble everyone was willing to make to keep hockey going during the pandemic. “It would be cheaper for us to shut the doors and not play,” Bettman said Monday. “We’re coming back to play this season because we think it’s important for the game, because our fans and our players want us to, and it may give people, particularly those who are back in isolation or where there are curfews, a sense of normalcy and something to do.” None of the four major North American men’s professional… Read full this story

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