And Then There Was One

We've seen virtually every league on the planet shut itself down in the midst of the pandemic, but there have been a few holdouts as both the NHL and AHL were trying to figure out how to conclude the 2019-20 season. There have been meetings and plans drawn up with ideas on how to keep everyone involved safe, but smarter minds finally prevailed today when the AHL decided that finishing the 2019-20 season was less important than keeping players, staff, officials, and fans safe. That leaves just the NHL as the lone hockey league with a serious pride problem when it comes to concluding its suspended season.

AHL President and Chief Executive Officer David Andrews, in one of his final acts in those positions before he retires, issued a statement earlier today that the 2019-20 AHL season would be called off due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. His statement reads,

After a lengthy review process, the American Hockey League has determined that the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season is not feasible in light of current conditions.

The League's operational focus has turned toward actively preparing for the 2020-21 season.

We are very grateful to the National Hockey League and its teams for their support and leadership in navigating through the challenges faced over the past two months.

The AHL continues to place paramount importance on the health and safety of our players, officials, staff and fans and all of their families, and we all look forward to returning to our arenas in 2020-21.

I know there are some out there who are questioning this decision, but this is, without doubt, the correct decision when it comes to the amount of work that will be needed in preparing the arenas and teams for the 2020-21 season to ensure everyone is safe. I respect David Andrews' decision here, despite it being a month overdue, but it's the right call and I hope it leads to the NHL making a correct decision when it comes to the stoppage of its season.

There will be awards handed out based on points percentage and who was leading in individual statistics at the time of the break, but the Calder Cup will not be awarded to any team this year - again, the right decision. When history looks back on this year with the number of deaths we've seen from this virus, not one person will fault the AHL for making this decision.

This might be the toughest decision that David Andrews had to make in his time as the top man in the American Hockey League, but it's the most correct decision he's made as well. He should be remembered for this when it comes time to honour him with a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Now if we could just get that last league onboard, all would be well.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!