I have never understood the asterisk argument in the slightest. The only scenario where that might be the case is if Chicago or Montreal won the cup. Basically all 22 other teams were either in a playoff spot, or realistically close enough to jump into one at the time of the shutdown. Only CHI and MTL really got bumped up a lot. Even if they DID win the cup, that would've entailed winning 19 games vs all the "actual" playoff teams. It's still well deserved. Brian Burke had a good point on Sportsnet a few days ago ... everyone's freaked out about Price or Crawford going on a run. Price had a .909 sv% and Crawford is 35. I'd be far more worried about Hellebuyck or Kuemper than them.
The NHL isn't in the luxurious position of just being able to forget about this season. I don't know if you guys watch The Hockey Guy on Youtube, but he did a fantastic job explaining all this. This year doesn't exist in a vacuum. The league's losses if they don't play are staggering - $1.1B+. If they manage to have a successful playoffs that could nearly be cut in half. You can say "boo hoo, poor billionaires," and that's fair. But think of all those that rely on the NHL to put food on the table. Statisticians, reporters, trainers, medical, concessions, ushers, custodians, broadcasters, advertisers, analysts, coaches, players, the list goes on. The league donates millions every year to charity as well, safe to say that's gone if they can't even play. Moreover, what about all of the prospects who can't further their development for an entire year? Or all the players who will show up out of shape a year from now or just retire unceremoniously? And what about all the kids hockey programs? An entire year of kids who can't play hockey. Future prospect pools could be anemic.
The league is doing all they can to make this as safe as possible. That's why they're taking so long. That's why the playoffs are in late July, not now for example. I'm sure there's some place somewhere that would let them play. But they're trying their best to make sure it's as safe, fair, and enjoyable as possible, which I appreciate. Remember guys, the shutdown started ~2.5 months ago. Now, most cases in Canada not called Quebec or Ontario are resolved. Late July is 2 months away. Who knows where we'll be by then? Stay safe!
