Last season, Tuesday was an open date for everyone while they did the draft and the promotion/relegation.
Thursday was a scrimmage date for everyone, with the cup starting the following week.
Saturday was the opening game of the league season.
So it is sort of like HT where you have one game when nobody plays. But it is unlike HT, in that the league season starts before the cup.
My own preference would be that the cup start on that first Thursday, so that the two cup matches in one week at the all star game could be eliminated. It would also bring in some more revenues.