By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
With cancelations and postponements all the rage with the world effectively shut down by way of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Hockey League pulled the trigger and officially postponed some upcoming league events originally scheduled for June on Wednesday, including the Scouting Combine, 2020 NHL Awards in Las Vegas, and 2020 NHL Draft.
“The National Hockey League today announced the postponements of the 2020 NHL Scouting Combine, the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Awards, and the 2020 NHL Draft,” the league confirmed in a statement. “With respect to the Bridgestone NHL Awards, the League looks forward to returning to Las Vegas in the future.
“Las Vegas has been the home of the Bridgestone NHL Awards since 2009.”
Las Vegas will not be the only city impacted by the decision, of course, as the Scouting Combine will rob Buffalo, N.Y. of its six-day event while the postponement of the 2020 NHL Draft will take a late-June weekend of business away from Montreal.
This decision comes a day after the league formally requested its team keep building availability through August, which seems like the likely date for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If the NHL is indeed able to resume play and finish this season (with or without fans in attendance), it’s believed that the postseason would include dates as late as August (and maybe even September). Such a course of action would effectively push these postponed events to some September or October dates.
The Bruins are expected to have a few players up for some awards — Patrice Bergeron for the Selke, David Pastrnak for the Rocket Richard (and maybe even the Hart), Tuukka Rask for the Vezina — this season, while the 2020 NHL Draft is currently projected to go on with the Black and Gold possessing all but their first-round and fourth-round picks.