Moose, American Hockey League officially pull plug on season

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This article was published 10/05/2020 (1594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Moose had their faint hopes for a late-season playoff push dashed Monday morning as the American Hockey League did the expected and cancelled the rest of the 2019-20 campaign. 

The AHL post-season is also scrapped, signalling the end of an historic run — the Calder Cup had been awarded every year since 1937.

But the COVID-19 pandemic also puts the possibility of even a partial 2020-21 season for the NHL feeder league into question. The league is still eyeing a fall start and needs to be ready for that scenario, said Moose head coach Pascal Vincent.

“We don’t know when we’re going to play. Nobody knows. We’re planning as if we’re returning in September. That’s what we’re going to do now, knowing the season is over. That’s the only way. And if we don’t start in September, then we’re just going to adjust,” said Vincent, speaking with reporters in a video conference Monday afternoon. 

“Right now, navigating when you don’t know the end results, that’s the challenge. Staying motivated… the ability to have some success in the American league, most of it is how creative you are, how much you study the game, and how much you get to know your players.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen next as far as when we’re going to play, so we have to plan for something. For us, or for me I should say, it’s thinking about September.”

The league’s board of governors voted Monday to cancel the remaining games of the 2019-20 regular season and scrap the playoffs, AHL president and CEO David Andrews said in a statement.

“After a lengthy review process, the American Hockey League has determined that the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season is not feasible in light of current conditions,” he said. “The AHL continues to place paramount importance on the health and safety of our players, officials, staff and fans and all of their families, and we all look forward to returning to our arenas in 2020-21.”

Manitoba (27-33-1) was in the basement of the Central Division when the season was halted March 12, the same day the NHL suspended play. The Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate was seven points back of the fourth and final playoff spot in the division and had 15 games remaining. 

The Moose left for Milwaukee the day the season was suspended and were to practise there ahead of a six-game road trip, but turned around and returned to Winnipeg.

Now that management and players are no longer in limbo, the organization can move ahead with the annual round of exit interviews, likely by video conferencing.

“We’re going to have to use the technology and get in touch with the players. The mechanics of how we’re going to do it is still something we need to figure out. We have a few ideas, and Zoom meetings might be an option, but we want to get in touch with our players,” Vincent said. “Not being able to do it in person face to face is not great, but we have to deal with it and find a way to meet with those guys, and it’s going to be through some kind of systems like this one where we can chat with the players and at least have a conversation where we see each other.”

The AHL team says ticket holders will be contacted concerning their options, such as credits to accounts, merchandise credits, donations to the True North Youth Foundation and straight refunds.

Without a TV contract and mega-sponsorship deals to create revenue, the AHL is a gate-driven league and that makes it very difficult to play games without crowds.

“Not playing in front of people, obviously it’s going to be different. We love when there’s people in the building,” Vincent said. “It creates a different atmosphere but, at the end of the day, we’ll have to adjust — that’s the main word here. We’ll have to adjust. If there’s no one in the building and we still can play, that’s not the best-case scenario but that might be the only scenario. If that’s the case, we’ll make the best out of it.”

The league standings, sorted by points percentage, and statistics (as of March 12) will serve as the basis for determining league awards for the regular season. 

Manitoba didn’t have a player in the top 40 in scoring. Veteran forward Seth Griffith led the team in goals (21) and points (41) in 58 games. Jansen Harkins was on a roll, with 31 points (7G, 24A) in 30 games before getting promoted to the Jets in December. He was named the AHL player of the month for November.

“I think the Jansen Harkins story is quite amazing. For him to keep improving to a point where he was one of the top scorers in (the AHL), his ability to adjust and improve and stick to the plan, and stay patient, and that’s what he did. He stayed positive. He stayed patient. He followed the process and he got better,” said Vincent.

“The confidence that he built in himself by doing the right things over and over and keep working on his craft, to me it’s quite the story. And it’s a story that doesn’t happen very often. We were lucky to see it unfold in front of us, and to a point where he got called up by the Jets.”

While he’s itching to work with players again, Vincent, 48, said the resumption of pro sports takes a back seat as the health crisis continues. He stays in constant contact with family in friends back home Quebec, where the death toll has climbed above 3,000.   

“My thoughts are going to all the people working at the front line and the patients, those who are going through a very difficult time,” said Vincent, from his Winnipeg home, where he’s enjoying quality time with his wife, Josée, and the couple’s nine-year-old daughter, Geneve. 

“My sister-in-law works at a (long-term) care facility where the coronavirus has been pretty intense. I’m in touch with those people and it’s just trying to support the best we can, from a distance, over the phone and talking to my brother. It’s just a difficult time. The courage that I see in those people that I know, that are right there in the middle of it, it’s very inspiring.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell