Source: Columbus will not be hub city for NHL’s return

Columbus will not be one of the two “hub” cities the NHL intends to use to restart its season next month, a local source told The Dispatch on Monday morning.

The season was paused March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league has been plotting a return ever since. It wants to create two bubble cities, place 12 teams in each city and run a tournament to determine the Stanley Cup champion.

Columbus was one of 10 candidates to be a hub city, the league announced June 5. Columbus had a lot going for it two major arenas, a plethora of training facilities and easy access to everything but its high-end hotel capacity may have been a detriment to its cause.

Given that the Canadian government recently approved the NHL’s cohort quarantine the government is waiving the country’s mandatory 14-day quarantine for hockey players entering Canada,

in other words Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton are three cities that remain in play.

The exchange rate of U.S. to Canadian dollars makes Canada all the more attractive to the league, which projects to lose around $1.2 billion if it can’t complete its 2019-20 season.

Las Vegas has been considered a virtual lock for one hub, in part because it has two huge, empty hotels and all the inherent amenities to put in a protective bubble. Also, the players like Vegas.

There have been rumors that Vancouver has emerged as another strong candidate. Chicago was getting some attention last week, as well. Players like Chicago, but the area has one of the highest counts of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country. Canadian cities Vancouver and Edmonton, in particular have some of the lowest counts. Pittsburgh, too, has done well with containment.

There is momentum in the direction of naming two Canadian cities as hubs.