Sens Prospects Lighting it up, Melnyk talks 2021, and Whatever is Happening With the NHL

• As always, the question on everyone’s mind is: what the hell is happening with the NHL’s 2020-21 season? The January 1st start date has finally been dropped, and now we’re looking at the 15th instead. The current plan is for training camp to start after Christmas. As far as I can tell, there’s no word on different start dates for teams that missed the playoffs. According to the CBC, the reason we’re not hearing much about it yet is mostly money. Wow, doesn’t that sound familiar as a Sens fan?
• For subscribers to The Athletic who want a longer read on the topic, Scott Burnside looks at the logistics of the 2021 situation. A basic rundown: things could change very suddenly after the holidays in anticipation of a post-holiday spike in COVID-19 cases, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that the Canadian border will stay closed. California has banned contact sports, and we don’t know if that ban is going to stay in place or if more states will implement similar policies. The plan for any situation like this one is to have the team play in a different city, basically. Teams will have to pay for stuff like testing and hotels, but the NHL might step in after a certain point. This seems ridiculously complicated, but it’s happening.
• If you’re tired of reading about the logistics of the 2021 season, why not opt for some light reading about NHL labour disputes? Apparently the NHLPA is preparing for the worst, and things are very, very complicated.
• Also, this:/

Further to what @FriedgeHNIC reported, there's at least a half dozen NHL teams looking to host multiple outdoor games this season. Here's my piece detailing what's being looked at in places like Pittsburgh, L.A., Nashville, Carolina, Boston, Dallas...https://t.co/rENdsvU1pD

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 3, 2020

This sounds like a lot of work, but it could be fun.

• Alright, moving on to Sens news now. Melnyk recently spoke to the media about where the Sens stand going into the next season. He seems excited about the young guys, and admits the Canadian division wouldn’t be ideal for the Sens but seems pretty confident they’ll make it work. He also had some uhhhh interesting takes on the arena situation, but I think I’m on board?
• Also, Sens prospects are still tearing up NCAA men’s hockey. You can watch some of the highlights on the UND athletics YouTube channel, including a snipe from Tyler Kleven, who just got the call to USA’s World Junior Team!
• Finally, Blake Bolden was a guest on this women’s hockey podcast! Would recommend listening to it if you have the time!/