Ice hockey: A league in search of clarity ...

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The month of  May draws to a close and the Elite League's total confirmed signings don't add up to one full roster.
Image: Photo-Mix/Pixabay

Only 12 players have signed up anywhere for the 2020-21 season; the starkest illustration yet of how uncertain the future remains for the sport in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

While work for next season is going on, there is only so much teams, and the league, can do without knowing when hockey can recommence, and how it can operate with social distancing restrictions.

Of the 12 players announced thus far, none are new to these shores, suggesting perhaps most of the deals were already done and dusted before the 2019-20 campaign was brought to a premature halt.

Cardiff Devils fans will be delighted to see forwards Joey Martin and Joey Haddad return - Martin for a seventh season - while, up in the Midlands, Coventry Blaze will be more than happy with the trio of returnees - former Fife Flyer Evan Bloodoff, the impressive Luke Ferrera and David Broll.

In Guildord, Jon Dunbar and Ian Watters, Manchester storm will have Cam Critchlow and Tyson Fawcett lace up again next season, while Dundee will welcome back Anthony Beaugard and Craig Garrigan.

Jonathon Phillips' return to Sheffield will also keep the Orange Army happy during lockdown.

In terms of known losses, Glasgow Clan are three down.

They dispensed with rookie coach Zach Fitzgerald - not a universally popular move - while retirement has beckoned for Matt Haywood and  Linden Springer. It'd come as no surprise to see more players from around the league hang 'em up and swap sport for the world of business and studies.

As for Belfast Giants, Fife Flyers and Nottingham Panthers, no news is, one can only guess, good news. Or maybe it's just no news ...

Of the three, Fife were in the greatest need of a serious shake-up after a dire season limped to a painful conclusion of last place.

But where any club starts in the middle of a global pandemic is a huge unknown.

Will players in North America commit to deals?

Will they travel to the UK where the death toll has been horrifically high?

And what exactly will they be coming too? Empty rinks? Games streamed online only? A shortened season?

Can teams afford to run with so many imports if they don't get gate money and find sponsorship outlets turned off?

Nine weeks into lockdown, we are none the wiser, and, as the calendar clicks over to June, the summer pattern of negotiations, signings and team building, may not yet be in full swing. Informal chats, and sounding players out will be happening via WhatsApp, for sure, but the fine detail may be on hold until the uncertainty diminishes.

Little wonder ice hockey's fabled rumour machine has been furloughed ...

https://viewfromfife.blogspot.com/2020/04/sport-without-spectators-cannot-survive.html


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