Snapshots: The Return Of Sports, AHL, Ducks

Commissioner Gary Bettman will appear with 5 other sports commissioners on tonight’s ESPN special The Return Of Sports, the NHL announced. Also appearing on tonight’s program will be Roger Goodell of the NFL, Adam Silver of the NBA, Rob Manfred of MLB, Cathy Engelbert of the WNBA and Don Garber of MLS. The show should provide a hefty amount of equivocation, but there’s at least the possibility of some interesting insights mixed in, especially as the WNBA has released their return to play and MLB continues the public squabble that stands in the way of their 2020 season.

• The American Hockey League released their own Return to Play task force today. Leading the charge will be outgoing AHL President and CEO David Andrews. He’ll serve as Chairman of the AHL 2020-221 Strategic Return to Play Task Force. A number of NHL general manages are also serving on the committee. The role of the committee, per the AHL, will be to provide strategic expertise and planning, rather than the execution of the AHL’s return to action.
• The Anaheim Ducks will not furlough or release any employees at this time, which includes staff at the Honda Center, per Elliott Teaford of the OC Register/Southern California News Group. Those making $75K or more may face a pay cut, but it’s still encouraging to see a team do their best to keep staff employed. The Ducks had previously announced that part-time staff will be paid through the end of the month, but there’s nothing new on that front. The Ducks are done for the year after finishing in 13th in the Western Conference with 67 points. With the playoffs not yet underway, it’s impossible to know when the Ducks will hit the ice next. It’s hard to know right now exactly how next season’s schedule might be impacted by this year’s delay.