The end is in sight!
The long marathon that is the NHL season ends no later than June 24. That’s the date for a potential Game 7 in Sunrise, Fla., between the Oilers and Panthers, if the final series goes that far.
But while there are two teams still standing, the other 30 teams are deep into the planning for next season already. June just might be the busiest month of the hockey season, with just a handful of games.
The annual draft combine, which features the top 100 potential draftable players, is underway in Buffalo. In addition to watching the 18-year-olds go through some fitness stations, the teams will all take time to interview many players, using the time to understand what makes these young men tick — not just about hockey, but about life.
In talking to some teams, these interviews have changed the thinking process for some about drafting a certain player — or more importantly, NOT drafting that player.
And yes, most teams now employ team sports psychologists, who will be asking a few of those different questions. You know, “If you were a tree, what would you be?”
Before the combine, teams have been secluded with their own scouting groups on the pro and amateur sides on how to approach the draft in Las Vegas near the end of the month, or free agency that begins on July 1.
Every team in the league, including the Oilers and Panthers, will approach this month knowing that their rosters today will not look the same when camps begin in September. With finite cap space, pending free agents, and retirements, teams already have a good idea of where they stand and what they need to do to be competitive next season.
And while the competition isn’t on the ice for all but two teams, this month might just be the biggest “game within the game,” when it comes to preparing every team for that long 82-game schedule, and the eventual postseason tournament that every team strives to be part of.
So in reality, the season on the ice is coming to an end, but the business of hockey never ends.
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