By the time the league resumes play on their tentative January 1, 2021 start date, it will have been 295 days since the San Jose Sharks last played an NHL game. Training camps for next season, as well as the start date itself, are a moving target while the league figures out the logistics of making a season with no fans and limited travel work.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie recently suggested the league may be backed into a late January or February start. For the Sharks, as well as the six other teams that did not qualify for the NHL’s 2020 postseason, the time away is more than just an average summer break: due to the coronavirus pandemic, access to training facilities and ice rinks have been limited in the seven months since the regular season was forced to conclude.