Are we getting to a point where a potential NHL Return To Play and the New York Islanders 2020-21 season is in serious jeopardy because of labor issues and the second wave of COVID-19, which is raging around the world?

“Talks are at a standstill. It’s really quiet,” a prominent NHL agent told “Off the Record” on Monday.

While there is still a good deal of hope for an NHL Return, the owners’ latest request to alter the collective bargaining agreement, which was signed just five months ago, left the players fuming and their agents wondering when is enough with the “constant concessions” players have made since the 2004-05 lockout?

In other words, the NHL’s offer may have re-opened old wounds. Some are beginning to ask: Would some NHL owners and even the league be OK with canceling the 2020-21 NHL season?

That and more in the latest National Hockey Now ‘Off The Record‘:

What happens to the 2020-21 NHL season if there’s a national lockdown in the United States after President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on January 20?

Just as it has the airwaves and press clippings, the potential 2020-21 NHL season start date and format has been the topic du jour amongst ‘NHL Professionals’ (players, coaches, scouts, management, agents) since our last edition of ‘Off The Record’. 

There’s also been some trade and free agent chatter but more speculation as teams, players and agents await the fate of the 2020-21 NHL season while the second wave of COVID hammers North America worse than the first and the transition of the United States Presidency remains on hold. Could the NHL Trade Market heat up once we have a date?

Warning: The first three OTR tidbits this week are not going to cheer you up but the reality is that not just at the rink but in North American life in general, the news is not bright. 

In terms of the NHL Trade market and unrestricted free agent signings, it remains quiet but thanks to injuries, we may also see the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets sign some key unrestricted free agents. 

The restricted free agent market has been more active. Some players like New York Rangers forwards Ryan Strome and Brendan Lemieux as well as Florida Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar avoided arbitration with their respective teams. Other RFA’s like Detroit Red Wings winger Anthony Mantha re-upped long-term. That appears to be the trend for now as an array of cap-strapped teams continue to just take care of their own young talent and wait for the UFA and NHL Trade markets to open up.

“I honestly don’t see that happening until we at least have a tentative start date for the season and teams know the potential calendar they’re dealing with to sort things out,” an NHL executive told Off The Record recently.

Another NHL source with direct knowledge of the planning for the 2021 season believes the players aren’t going to agree to anything before January 15.

“I think it’s February. I don’t think any player is going to vote to do training camp over the [Christmas and New Year] holidays. It might be January 15, but I think it’s more likely somewhere [in early] February.”

Until then, there’s still going to be plenty of chatter amongst NHL league and team executives, scouts, coaches, players, and agents. This is where you can find out what the chatter’s all about. Welcome to another edition of National Hockey Now’s ‘Off The Record’!