When the Boston Bruins host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, June 13th, 2011 in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, it will mark the 2010-11 NHL season has last 9 months (270 days) for both clubs.  In contrast, the 2010-11 NBA will have started after the NHL and ended BEFORE the NHL.

This fact begs the question of why?  Why is the NHL still playing after the NBA has concluded their season?  The NBA starts their season about a month later that the NHL and is now able to finish their season before the NHL. 

So, how can this be changed?  First, it will not change for the 2011-12 season, the final season of the current NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement.  So if you think this can be addressed this off-season, forget it.  However, there is nothing stopping the league and the players from negotiating the schedules for the next CBA.

One suggestion could be shorten the season from 82 games to 74 to 80 games.  From the league standpoint, do not expect the owners to be in favor of losing 1 to 4 home dates from the schedule, especially in a sport the heavily relies on gate receipts as a revenue stream.

The players I cannot imagine enjoy playing hockey in June, even though they are playing for a Championship.  The ice conditions are generally not the greatest, which can be a source of concern for the players’ health.  Additionally, a number of buildings need to have additional equipment brought in to keep the ice surfaces in playable conditions.

So with this I present my recommendations for changing the current NHL schedule.

1) Training Camps start no later than September 3rd.  Training camps generally open in mid-September.  This change alone brings the last day possible day of the finals to June 1 or 2.  However, the goal is to have no Hockey in June.

2) Start the season no later that the 24th of September.  The pre-season was used to get players back into shape.  The majority of players recognize this is a year-round commitment and are in shape reporting to Camp. There is no need to have a preseason that is longer than 3 weeks.

3) The NHL regular season needs to be completed in 180 days or no later that the 24th of March.  Currently most seasons are 186 or 187 days long.

4) The Playoffs need to start within 72 hours after the end of the Regular Season.

These 4 changes alone would allow the NHL to end their season prior to Memorial Day in the United States.  There would be numerous benefits to the NHL ending the season in May as oppose to June.  However, the single greatest benefit to the change in the schedule as outlined is the Stanley Cup Finals would not be competing with the NBA Finals at the same time.