Bruins like five-day ‘bye' idea for next season

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BOSTON – One interesting wrinkle for next season will be a five-day “bye” period of rest for each of the 30 NHL teams on next season’s schedule.

As first reported by ESPN.com’s Pierre Lebrun, each of the 30 teams will have a separately scheduled mandatory five day period off the ice between Jan. 1-Feb. 28 on next year’s regular season schedule. This will be in addition to the All-Star break and Christmas break that are already built within the schedule, and will give players a breather at a time when the NHL dog days usually begin to break players down a bit.

It was a concession to the NHLPA for approval of the NHL All-Star Game format change for this season, and it’s something that Bruins players felt would be a great benefit to them. Particularly for a busy guy such as Patrice Bergeron, who will also be playing in the World Cup of Hockey next fell and could be tapped for the All-Star Game as well.

“Those are the months where the season hits a little bit of a lull, so it’s a nice touch. It’s also smart injury-wise for all those guys so they have a chance to regroup, and feel better,” said Bergeron. “[It’s about] having more exciting games for the fans because if guys are well-rested then it will be better hockey.”

Bruins NHLPA player rep Adam McQuaid didn’t have a huge amount of input on the five-day bye plan as he learns at the new gig he adopted this season from Daniel Paille. But the veteran B’s defenseman also felt it was important for next season given how long the year will be for some players, and for the potential benefit: it’s agreed by most in NHL circles that the hockey following the lengthy Olympic break every four years is extremely high caliber for that time of the season.

“I think it will especially be good for the guys that go to the All-Star game. Those are the guys that are leaned on pretty heavily by their teams, and they don’t get that break. It will be good for those guys,” said McQuaid. “It will condense the schedule a little bit, but it also give guys a chance to heal up some bumps and bruises at that time of year. I think it will be a positive thing.”

So now perhaps the NHL can build that “post-Olympic break quality” into the regular season every year with the five day “bye”. That being said there are still some old school NHL traditionalists that wonder if an extended break away from the rink could also have an adverse impact right in the middle of the season.

“With the amount of games and the World Cup, certain players are going to be starting the year much earlier,” said Zdeno Chara. “Considering that the same players might also be going far into the playoffs, I think [a bye] will be beneficial to all of them. But as far as to see how it is, I’ll guess we’ll just have to experience it.

“As you know sometimes those days are good to have, and sometimes you come back from those days [during a break] and you can sense a little bit of rust in the team chemistry, or in the systems. And it takes the team a while to get back on track. But I think it’s something for sure it’s out there for us to experience.”

One thing is clear: it’s another big win for the NHLPA as they continue to gain concessions from the league that help foster a more agreeable work environment for NHL players that didn’t have things like “scheduled off-days” or five-day byes even a couple of years ago.

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