Mark Madden's Hot Take: NHL should follow lead of NFL, NBA and just play

The NHL was supposed to resume its season Monday. That’s been pushed back to Tuesday. That postpones Monday’s game between the Penguins and host Boston.

The Penguins are next scheduled to play at Toronto Wednesday. But the Maple Leafs had 13 players with covid as of Friday. There are also concerns about crossing the border because Canada is in a constant and frantic panic over covid.

The Penguins are scheduled to play at Ottawa (also in Canada, duh) on Friday afternoon. They probably won’t.

So, the best bet is that the Penguins’ next game is Sunday, Jan. 2, at home vs. San Jose. (If then.)

What’s the NHL’s plan?

The NFL is playing. The NBA is playing. Those leagues understand that covid isn’t going away and find a way to deal with it.

Some covid problems might clear up during the NHL’s current pause. But more will develop.

The NHL pulled its players from the Beijing Winter Olympics, giving it a 16-day window in February to reschedule postponed games. Here’s betting the NHL uses the wiggle room that availability provides to cavalierly postpone more games and that the league still extends its regular season beyond April 29, when it’s scheduled to conclude. (That’s already way too long.)

So, what’s the solution?

Play with who you got. Players who have covid but are asymptomatic should play. Don’t test vaccinated players who are asymptomatic. (That’s the NFL’s new policy.) Millions work their jobs not knowing they have covid.

Employees at Wal-Mart aren’t on a schedule for regular covid testing. They just work. If they feel sick, they get tested.

The omicron variant is more contagious but not as damaging. It’s not the same challenge as when the pandemic started.

Here’s another alternative: Covid, like any virus, is more rampant in the winter. The NHL shouldn’t play in December, January and February. Start in September. Resume in March. Make the season 50 games. Make playoff series best-of-three.

If covid still prevails, shorten the season more. (Twenty-five games is fine. Let’s see Alexander Ovechkin top Wayne Gretzky’s record for career goals then.) The playoffs could be one-game elimination, like March Madness. Or get all the playoff teams together and have a big shootout. The winner gets the Stanley Cup. (Test the players for covid between every shot. Safety first.)

Or I could turn off the sarcasm font, and the NHL could just play.