Nonsensical NHL Scheduling

The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup on Monday.  As their general manager pointed out in his on-ice interview during the celebration, their front office had no chance to enjoy the victory.  They aren't even able to go to the parade!  Because they immediately had to shift their attention and be in Las Vegas for the draft...with the NHL Awards sandwiched in between.

They, of course, couldn't expect that the Stanley Cup Final would go seven games (especially after the Panthers took a 3-0 lead).  And they certainly couldn't anticipate Game 7 being played in South Florida.  But, the fact that they were playing hockey in South Florida in the last week of June (a week after the NBA finished!) was dumb in its own right.  Especially since the NHL Awards and NHL Draft were already scheduled for late June dates.

During Game 7, Sean McDonough said that this was the longest NHL season in history, which is incorrect.  The 2019-20 season lasted nearly a full year because of the COVID break!  It wasn't even the NHL's latest finish.  The 2021 season extended into July.  Although, I think he probably meant it was the longest based on total number of days without an interruption, in which case, he's probably right.

But still, the fact that the NHL season was so long to begin with is what caused this problem.  The regular season didn't end until mid-April, which obviously meant the playoffs didn't start until then.  Which extended both conference finals into June.  And, if the conference finals don't end until June, that guarantees the Stanley Cup Final (which already has a schedule that's more drawn out) is finishing in mid-June at the absolute earliest.

That's one of the big things the critics were quick to pounce on.  It obviously worked out because of the distance between Miami and Edmonton, but the two days between games whenever there's travel was already built in.  Yes, one game with two days off on either side is a little silly, but that scheduling isn't entirely the NHL's fault, so I'm not going to fault the league on that one.  The blame actually goes to the NBA.

As soon as the NBA announced that it was changing the Finals schedule to give the teams two days off when traveling (one for travel, one as a practice day in the other city), the NHL didn't really have a choice but to follow suit.  There were too many chances for there to be a conflict if they didn't.  Not only do teams share arenas, the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals are on the same network every other year.  So, the NHL needs to know that their arenas will be available and the game will be shown on TV.  Those schedules are made well in advance and can't really be changed on the fly.

Still, though, the NHL should get some blame for the week between the end of the conference finals (which both ended in six, so it's not like they were short series) and Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.  The Stanley Cup Final used to start on a Monday and be on a Monday-Wednesday, Saturday-Monday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday schedule.  By starting on Saturday, they ended up playing on two Saturday nights (and a Friday).  And, not to mention, going almost a full week longer!

Whether it was ABC's request/demand, I don't know.  But the point remains.  The problem with the seven-game Stanley Cup Final wasn't so much the length of the series (in terms of number of days), but the fact that it started so late to begin with.  Because that's what created the short turnaround before the NHL Awards, the draft and the unofficial start of the 2024-25 season.

While the Panthers and Oilers were duking it out for the Cup, the other 30 teams were already in full-blown off-season mode.  They weren't just making difficult salary cap-related decisions, they were making actual transactions.  Darcy Kuemper was traded from the Capitals to the Kings.  Barclay Goodrow was waived by the Rangers and signed with the Sharks.  I was shocked to find out this was allowed!  Why is it?!  The Panthers and Oilers were, in effect, being penalized for making it to the Stanley Cup Final.  Because every other team got a leg up on the start of the 2024-25 season and now they're playing catch-up.

It's ridiculous that teams are allowed to trade and sign players for next season before this season is even over.  There's a trade deadline, isn't there?  Isn't that until the end of the season?  Because the season's not over yet!  If teams want to make their salary cap decisions and release players, fine.  That's understandable and fair.  That should be it, though.  No making trades or signing free agents until after the Final ends.  You can even make it like the NFL and let them do everything except make it official beforehand if you want.  But the idea of other teams being able to make transactions while the two best teams in the league are still fighting for the Stanley Cup is just absurd!

Then they immediately have to transition into draft mode!  How long were they already in draft mode (while their team was making a deep run in the playoffs)?  Not only do they literally have no break at all, they don't even get a day off to celebrate their team's Stanley Cup run!  Meanwhile, if the Stanley Cup Final had started a few days earlier, there wouldn't have been a possibility of the Draft running up on Game 7 like this.

Scheduling the NHL Awards and NHL Draft when they did isn't really the issue here.  Pairing those two events at the same time in the same city makes complete sense.  And I have no issue with the timing, either.  By putting them in late June, there's theoretically enough time between the last game, putting a bow on the season with the NHL Awards, and shifting the focus to next season with the draft...even if the Final goes to Game 7.

Granted, none of this would've been an issue had the Panthers won the Cup in a four-game sweep, but that's kind of my point.  The Stanley Cup Final going seven games (like it did this year) also needs to be considered.  The NBA has managed to figure it out.  There was roughly a week between when Game 7 of the NBA Finals was scheduled and the first day of the NBA Draft (and no transactions in between).  It shouldn't be that hard for the NHL to do the same thing.

Building a buffer into the schedule makes more sense for so many reasons.  They wouldn't be cramming everything into the last week of June then.  They'd actually have some time to build up the NHL Awards and Draft after the Stanley Cup Final.  And, more importantly, they won't immediately be going from one to another, followed by nothing.  Give this season time to end before starting next season.