We are undoubtedly in a new era of hockey, with a lot of new protocols and enhanced safety measures in place, including some arenas reducing attendance limits, and others bereft of fan attendance entirely.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators are two of those teams, thanks to orders from the Ontario government, which caused some turmoil among the NHL ranks and forcing the league to revamp the schedule for reasons relating to revenues maximization.
Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, both the Leafs and Sens will be allowed to welcome fans back to their respective arenas, albeit at 50% capacity, starting on February 21st. At this point, the tentative date to allow full attendance is March 14th, but we all know how quickly things can change in a pandemic world.
Nevertheless, that's some good news for a Thursday, and at this point, any progress is good. Hopefully the NHL/NHLPA will be able to work something out with escrow that will allow the league to maintain its current salary cap rising projections over the next few years.
