The postponed matches are already making that happen in the SHL.
Then add an Olympics in Beijing and a possible continued spread of infection and it looks really bad.
- The problem is that during February when the Olympics take place, we do not really know how we can set the schedule.
Some teams can play matches, but some can not because they have too many players at the Olympics.
The combinations that become possible can be very limited.
If we look at the period after the Olympics, it is very, very tight.
We play Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday all the way in and we have very few reserve days, says Johan Hemlin and continues:
- If the spread of infection continues and we do not get the matches in the flow we have imagined, we will end up in a situation where we need more playing days.
Then we theoretically have to postpone the playoffs for a week or two.
We do not know that today and we are not there, but we must take it into account.
Is that the only scenario you are looking at or are there other ways to handle this?
- We can not change the basic series in the structure, it must be played completely.
When it comes to playoffs, you can compress the days and that is the first thing we look at.
That you play back to back and remove reserve days.
The situation after that is to cut the number of matches and we do not want to do that.
Then there is the option to postpone the playoffs.
Hemlin wants to avoid any team having to play more than four games in one week.
- We are constantly on two or three matches a week.
It is possible to push in a fourth match, but there we usually put a stop.
We usually have four as a maximum, and then you try not to have it week after week.