Less NHL Preseason Games Are Coming But Will It Reduce Injuries?

Let’s Talk about the preseason for a minute. Everyone is talking about how the NHL Preseason is too long. This is a subject everyone can agree on. It is way too long, and that could change.

As TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun and other hockey insiders, including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, have stated, the NHL is looking to reduce the number of preseason games.

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As LeBrun noted outside of the Board of Governors meeting this past Tuesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the Governors agree to reduce the preseason and add two more regular season games.

And that makes sense, too. The league will want to make up for the lost revenue. But that can only be done once the new CBA is ratified.

Remember, the owners get 100 percent of the revenue generated during the NHL preseason. They do not have to split that with the Players as part of the CBA 50/50 Hockey Related Revenue. 

So, it makes sense from that standpoint. Not to mention, when the NHL eventually goes to 36 teams, there will be a need for 84 games to balance out the divisional games.

However, the topic of reducing the number of NHL Preseason games to reduce injuries is hard to buy into. Some of these are freak accidents. The Drew Doughty one is a freak accident in the regular season. The same goes for Macklin Celebrini getting tripped up, losing an edge, and going into the boards.

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Those can happen anytime. Similar to what we saw between Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Cedric Pare and Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine. Laine even admitted he could have done better moving in a different direction to avoid the knee-to-knee collision.

Even if the rosters are balanced out in the NHL preseason, that knee-on-knee play can happen regardless. It is different when a player deliberately sticks his knee out to hurt another player. These injuries are freakish.

However, what happened Tuesday night between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators is not part of the game. Arber Xhekaj took exception to the hit by Ridly Greig on Kirby Dach. Greig later faced the music, but Xhekaj hit on Tim Stutzle was high. Xhekaj took a run at Stutzle with aggression, and it knocked Stutzle out of the game.

Granted, Stutzle’s stick caught him in the face, but that type of aggression is not part of the preseason. It’s not part of the regular season, either. So, that stuff will not help reduce the NHL preseason.

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If the NHL reduces the number of preseason games, could we see injuries creep up in training camps like Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers is dealing with? He couldn’t finish two preseason games.

We see it in the NFL all the time. These guys don’t play and get hurt immediately because they jump into game action with no preparation. Whether it is a hamstring quad or another type of injury. The players are hurt.

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The first four weeks of the NFL season are the preseason. Hockey is different, but it takes time to get in game shape, and hockey players want to play. We saw no preseason in the COVID-shortened season and the lockout of the 2012-13 season. It worked out fine because the players came into training camp already in shape and playing elsewhere.

The NHL must find the right balance for the number of preseason games. What is the perfect number? It is four, as many have suggested. We know most veterans only want to play in three. Goalies wish to get a full game before they start into the real thing.

It seems like we’re heading toward abolishing the NHL preseason, not abolishing it, but reducing it to a minimum of four games. That way, the League can have more regular-season games.