Like most of us, John Tavares doesn't have an easy fix or solution as to how the NHL should resume action on the 2019-20 season.
The Leafs captain has heard the rumblings of a proposed 24-team playoff-style tournament and playing groups of games inside geographically-based hub cities but is unsure of all the ideas being floated around.
“Certainly there’s still a priority to finish the regular season and play the playoffs,” Tavares explained in an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt.
"Guys understand how fortunate we are to play a game for a living, and if we have that opportunity, we would be very excited about that, especially knowing the state the world is in, and the positivity that could bring back," Tavares said. "But, at the same time, the health and safety measures have to be at the highest of standards."
"But as time goes by, you have to consider all our options with the information we have. The 24-team concept has been brought up quite a bit. But there’s been other concepts, other numbers of teams. We’ve thrown around everything. Nothing’s been decided on."
"I'm not sure I'm completely 100% sold on any format.
"But the biggest thing is honouring the regular season as best as we can while still giving each team that deserves the opportunity, or still has an opportunity to make the playoffs, to be a part of that."
As North American health leaders and all forms of government work to reopen the economy in certain phases, there are still too many unknown variables for a solution to be reached, although progress is certainly being made in the right direction. The NHL suspended its season on March 12, while other leagues such as the AHL and ECHL cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season as the pandemic got worse.
"It's difficult to determine the fairest way of going about it, with so many different variables that were out of your control, in terms of games teams have played, the opponents they have left to finish the season, how many home games."
Tavares is one of the NHLPA's Return to Play reps along with Connor McDavid, Mark Scheifele, James van Riemsdyk & Ron Hainsey. The group is working closely with the league to iron out the kinks and work on a possible solution to the logistics of the games.
Last week, Gary Bettman reiterated that he has no plans of cancelling the rest of the 2019-20 season.
Tavares noted that most players agree with resuming the season, but knows some have legitimate health and safety concerns about the players' best interests.
"Guys understand how fortunate we are to play a game for a living, and if we have that opportunity, we would be very excited about that, especially knowing the state the world is in, and the positivity that could bring back," Tavares said. "But, at the same time, the health and safety measures have to be at the highest of standards."
The Oakville, Ontario, product fell below the points-per-game mark with 60 points (26 goals, 34 assists) in 63 games after a strong first season in Toronto where he scored 47 goals and added 41 helpers in 82 games before adding five more points in seven playoff games.
(h/t SI's Alex Prewitt)
