Eberle is for playing into summer, but thinks cut-off date may be needed

New York Islanders forward Jordan Eberle is hopeful the 2019-20 NHL season will resume eventually, but he's being realistic about the delicate timeline.

"I'm for playing into later into the year. But that being said, I don't know at what point do you cut it off," Eberle said, according to NHL.com's Brian Compton. "You need to resume a full season next year and you need to have that time and that rest too. It's such a fine line."

He added that if the restart keeps getting pushed back and potentially into June or July, "at some point there has to be a date where you say, 'OK, the season's lost,' and we start recuperating for next year."

The Islanders, who were in the playoff hunt when the season was paused, sit just one point out of a wild-card spot.

"As of right now, I think everyone's mindset is that we do want to play the playoffs," Eberle said.

"You work all season long, all previous summer long to have a shot to win the Stanley Cup. Because of certain events that are out of all of our control, you can't do that, it's hard," he continued.

New York has played 68 games this season, while the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are one point ahead of the Islanders and occupy the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, have played 70 contests. With multiple possibilities open for what the playoffs could look like if the season resumes, New York isn't guaranteed a spot.

"I'm sure we can make a strong case for point percentage and we'd squeak into the playoffs," Eberle said. "Regardless of what's going to happen, if we do resume and we do resume with the playoffs, there's going to be some teams upset that they're not in."

Eberle recorded 16 goals and 24 assists in 58 games this season before the hiatus.

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