Any fan of any sport is always eager to know when their favorite sport will come back to be able to watch all of the teams play again and hopefully win a game. Typically, all sports seasons start around the same time, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, everything has gotten delayed. Some sports were already close to the end of their seasons when they had to be canceled due to health risks, such as basketball and hockey. 

The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League (NBA, NHL) both resumed playing where they left off during this past summer and both ended shortly after, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Tampa Bay Lightning being the winners, and sports fans were happy to see their teams play again. After the NBA season ended, they announced that they will be starting again on December 22, 2020. NHL fans were hoping for the same thing, but alas, this has still not happened.

It is still up in the air as to when the next hockey season will start, with the National Hockey League themself going on to say, “… we are taking our time and making sure that as we look for ways to move forward we’re focused on health and safety and doing the right things.”

It is nice to see that player and fan health is being prioritized. The NHL is focusing more on lives than money, which is excellent. Having said that, fans would likely appreciate what they are doing even more if they knew a concrete date as to when it would start.

“I’m not upset- I’m annoyed, but not surprised,” an anonymous hockey fan said. “I think they are trying to come to some sort of agreement (again) for now and will figure out all the details later.” On the topic of safety, they said that “… they won’t have the bubbles as they did for the playoffs, so there is a greater risk factor for Covid-19 to be… spread.” 

Players in the NHL obviously have to be more careful, as just one positive case could prolong the season even further. 

The NHL is in a tough situation currently as the later they wait to start, the shorter the season is going to be, which is not beneficial for the players, and more importantly, the fans. The players might get upset that they are not getting to play as much (and might get paid less) and the fans will get upset that they are not getting to see their usual amount of games. 

According to an interview with CBS News, “NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has already said that he doesn’t want the playoffs to carry well into the summer like they did in 2020… it’s likely that the league is looking at early-mid July as its targeted end date for the 2021 playoffs.” 

The hockey season typically lasts about six months, which could potentially put its definitive starting date sometime in January or February.

Another anonymous hockey fan had a similar thought, saying that “I am not upset, but disappointed that there is no concrete start date. The NHL is waiting so long to confirm the start of the… season because of financial and health reasons. Many details need to be worked out in both areas.” 

The anonymous hockey fan also went on to say that they are glad that health and safety are being prioritized and were shocked that there was “not one case of Covid-19” throughout the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs back in August.

With hockey being one of the most popular sports, it is unfortunate that it is unknown when it will come back, especially since people want to watch it. At some point, the 2021 hockey season will start, but if too much time passes, it will not be what people are looking for. The NHL needs to come to an agreement soon in order to keep the players and the fans happy.