The NHL today released a statement through their public relations department announcing the postponement of three events scheduled for June. The Scouting Combine, NHL Awards and 2020 Draft which were all scheduled to take place between June 1st and June 27th but have been postponed “due to the ongoing uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus.”
The @NHL has announced the postponements of the 2020 NHL Scouting Combine, the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Awards and the 2020 NHL Draft. https://t.co/m0mXPAyIhN #NHLCombine #NHLDraft #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/iWZjW1Yw1f
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 25, 2020
Buffalo was scheduled to host the Scouting Combine for draft eligible players between June 1st and June 6th, while the Bridgestone NHL Awards would have been presented June 18th in Las Vegas. The last of the three postponements, the Draft, was scheduled for June 26th and 27th in Montreal, Quebec.
This announcement should come as no surprise to fans who have been without hockey now for 13 days as the NHL looks to put plans in place to finish this season as soon as safely able to do so. This is surely the first of many announcements to come over the next few weeks as they deal with issues like player contracts and playoff formats. Ultimately, when the season restarts it will mean playing into June no matter what format they ultimately decide on to crown a Stanley Cup Champion.
Teams were apparently asked to submit venue availability up until the end of July when COVID-19 first put the season on hold on March 12th. To hold awards and the Draft while teams were still competing for the Cup would have made no sense.
The official press release stated that “the location, timing and format of the 2020 NHL Draft (and Draft Lottery) will be announced when details are finalized. With respect to the Bridgestone NHL Awards, the League looks forward to returning to Las Vegas in the future.”
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That last sentence sounds like the awards won’t be held in Las Vegas, but also poses the question could it mean no award show at all? Yet another way to screw MacKinnon out of a Hart Memorial Trophy.
