BETTMAN STILL FAVOURING SUMMER RETURN FOR HOCKEY
Gary Bettman continues to keep the National Hockey League’s doors open to anything regarding a return to the ice.
In a television interview with Fox Business on Wednesday morning, the NHL commissioner indicated that a resumption of the NHL in the summer is one option.
“We’re focused on being as flexible and as agile as possible, and when we get the opportunity from a health standpoint to bring our players together, to let our teams reconstitute themselves to get operations up and running, we will be in a position to do that, whenever it makes sense,” Bettman said.
“And we believe that we can be fairly flexible in terms of the calendar, and my guess at this point is we’re probably going to be playing into the summer, which is something that we can certainly do.”
With input from the league’s 31 teams and in talks with the NHL Players’ Association, the NHL has been exploring not only the logistical issues for getting back on the ice but also the ways in which it could properly finish the 2019-20 regular season.
When the NHL hit pause on March 12 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, five teams — the New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference and the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference — were within three points or less of a wild-card spot. The Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks weren’t far off in the West.
“There are at least seven teams that were on the bubble of making the playoffs, and not all the teams have played the same number of games,” Bettman said. “Whatever we do to come back, and this is where I am talking about being agile and flexible, we’re going to have to do something, whether it’s complete the regular season in whole or in part.
“Whether or not it’s expanded playoffs, we’re going to have to do something that is fair and has integrity. That’s going to be very important, no matter what it is we do, and we’re considering all the alternatives. Nothing has been ruled in and nothing has been ruled out.”
One major obstacle the NHL, and other pro sports leagues, will have to clear is where games could be played if there is a green light of some sort to go back into game action. The best way, of course, for the NHL to get back on the ice would be to have the clubs’ players return to each of their respective team cities for training camp, but that could be months, if not more than a year, away.
Neutral sites? One site, for example Grand Forks, N.D., has been discussed.
It has to be kept in mind that players haven’t had access to their usual workout facilities, never mind getting on the ice.
The NHL this week extended its self-quarantine to April 30. There has been speculation that a final call on the 2019-20 season, whether it is to be completed, won’t be made until the end of May or even the middle of June.
“We have been considering all of the alternatives, not just in terms of the structure of play, but where we actually do it because we’re all over North America — Canada and the United States — in lots of different locations and not all of them may be in the same condition in terms of the coronavirus,” Bettman said.
“We have been exploring the possibility of some neutral sites.”
The bottom line for Bettman, in terms of the players and personnel associated with the NHL’s teams, is health and safety.
“Before we can begin as a business standpoint, we have to be comfortable that we have the appropriate medical protocols in place, because we’re going to have to have our players travel from virtually all over the world,” Bettman said.
“We have lots of our players in Canada, not just the United States, and we also have a fair number of players in Europe.” tkoshan@postmedia.com Twitter.com/ koshtorontosun