The National Hockey League (NHL) started their 2019-2020 season on Oct. 2, 2019 and ended it on Sept. 28. This season was different than previous years because of the pandemic that took everyone by surprise, leading to the season being paused on Mar. 11, 2019.

“It took two bubbles and strict safety protocols, but the NHL was remarkably able to host the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” according to CBS Sports, which started back up the first week of June. 

The bubbles are safety bubbles that most sports have been using to overcome the pandemic and allow the teams to play during their season. 

24 teams played for the Stanley Cup this year over the course of 68-71 games. In a regular season, there would have been 31 teams, each playing 82 games split into 41 at home and 41 on the road. The commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, released a video on the NHL Youtube page talking about the 24-team return plan. 

One part of the plan involved having two hub cities: one for the eastern teams and the other for the western teams. The limited number of support staff only allowed 50 personnel for each team, which lessened the likelihood of contracting the virus. NHL also posted a video on what happens every morning following Robert Thomas from the St Louis Blue’s team. Every morning the players’ temperatures were checked and they had to answer a series of health-related questions. After that, they got tested; staff as well as players were required to follow the new protocol since they spent time with them.

“You definitely feel safe here, no outside contact,” said Thomas. 

Since there were no fans and it already felt weird not having people watching, the game presentation teams went above and beyond to try to make it feel as close to normal as it could be. NHL representatives Renee Riva and John Bochiaro worked closely through calls on what worked and what did not work, touching base with the other presentation teams. 

The final game was between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay won game 6 with a score of 2-0. The Dallas Stars tried to make a comeback, but it was almost impossible with relentless forechecking and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy ultimately leading Tampa Bay to their victory. When the final sound went off, Tampa Bay gathered together and celebrated while the Stars kneeled, waiting to shake their hands in congratulations.

The season ended with a bang, and the Stanley Cup went home to Florida for a big celebration.

Fun fact: the Stanley Cup is the only national sporting league trophy that gets to travel around to each player on the winning team for a day. You can do anything with it during that time: some have made drinks in it, others have bathed their babies with it.

On Oct. 15, the NHL announced that the 2020-21 season would be pushed back to Jan. 1, 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic.

Photo courtesy of SALTWIRE.COM