The New Jersey Devils are in pretty bad shape right now on the ice, but off the ice, the NHL is trying to figure out whether they will be able to go to the Olympics next year. The schedule calls for Olympic ice hockey games between February 10th and February 20th for the men. Because of this, the NHL has instilled an Olympic break into the schedule. There will be no games between February 7th and February 20th.
Now, there are reports that the Olympics are in jeopardy for NHL players. The protocols in China are reportedly going to be pretty strict, and the situation might get worse before it gets better. NHL players might have to quarantine in China for up to a month, and they wouldn’t be allowed to leave the country during that time. It’s a hard pill to swallow, especially for people who have families back here.
With a COVID outbreak currently hitting the NHL, this has started the talk of canceling the agreement that allows players to go to China. If players aren’t doing the Olympics, could the NHL just redo the schedule to add these games? Or maybe, the NHL could add rescheduled games in the place of the Olympic break?
Looking at the schedule for the Prudential Center, that would be impossible. Josh Harris and David Blitzer are going to be making some good money while Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar are representing their respective countries. They have multiple events coming into The Rock.
The Prudential Center is advertising concerts with Billie Eilish, Marc Anthony, and Farruko during the Olympic Break. There are also three Seton Hall basketball games. Speaking of basketball, the Harlem Globetrotters are on their way to Newark on February 21st.
Basically, the Devils have a window between February 13th and February 17th to fit in games. That’s fine and all, but then the teams have to fit games for 31 other teams within the three week window, and then they have to take games off the schedule for some teams. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to revamp the schedule to take out the Olympic break. There is too much already on the schedule.