The reason most hockey players are great golfers is obvious: They’re excellent athletes and have summers off.
Next summer, however, what will be dubbed the 2020-21 regular season will probably go into July, and the Stanley Cup won’t be awarded until late August or September.
A new tentative Jan. 1 start to the season might stick for ensuing years if next season highlights all the advantages of playing in one calendar year. The NHL has never fared well going head-to-head with fall football, and joining baseball in the summer could be advantageous.
Given that the Stanley Cup has been awarded almost every spring or early summer since 1893 — it’s the oldest trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America — traditionalists are bound to provide significant push-back.