Return of NHL may be held in hub cities
League looks at sites, like LV, to handle 12 teams
Commissioner Gary Bettman offered a hint at what the NHL’S return-to-play plan could look like.
Bettman held a virtual fireside chat Monday with sports business conference Leaders Week and confirmed the league is considering “probably eight or nine different places” that can accommodate “a dozen or so teams in one location.”
Las Vegas remains one of the potential hosts, according to a report by TSN.
“We’re going to have … eight or nine facilities that we can use in different places,” Bettman said, “which will depend on how active COVID-19 might be in that particular place, the availability of testing and make sure there are enough other accommodations, including hotels, that we could host a dozen or so teams in one location.”
The league’s Board of Governors met Monday af
ternoon, and mometum appears to be building toward an announcement from the NHL and NHL Players’ Association of a return-to-play proposal before the end of this week.
The Return to Play Committee met twice last week and continued discussions over the weekend, according to multiple reports, attempting to narrow down a plan to finish the season after it was paused March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the topics reportedly being pored over are the postseason format, the length of training camps, what the quarantine will look like and testing procedures for the coronavirus.
“There is still a great deal of uncertainty, unless there’s an abundance of testing available, and it can’t be at the expense of medical needs,” Bettman said. “We have to have that if we’re going to move forward. … The medical needs must take priority and there must be enough tests to satisfy what the medical community thinks its needs are.”
The latest model being looked at according to reports from ESPN and other media outlets features the top 12 teams from the two conferences based on points percentage playing in two or four hub cities without fans.
A modified 20-team tournament, with 10 teams per conference, is another alternative being bandied about, though any format that excludes large media markets Chicago and Montreal is less appealing to the league.
Each of those plans reportedly calls for a round-robin to help determine playoff seeding rather than jumping straight into the postseason tournament.
That would satisfy the players’ desire to get a few games under their belts before scratching and clawing for the Stanley Cup while also partially satisfying the league’s TV rights holders and sponsors.
“We’re probably going to be in NHL buildings,” Bettman said. “We probably will need the capacity to play multiple games in the course of the day.”
Once a return-to-play proposal is presented, the NHLPA’S executive board consisting of the 31 player representatives, one from each team, would need to decide whether to take a full vote.
The NHL remains in Phase
One of its return-to-play plan, with players and staff in self-isolation. The league said last month in a joint statement with the NHLPA it hoped to institute Phase Two this month, which would allow team facilities to open for small, group skates.
“Everything we’re hearing from our fans is that they’re (eager) to get back, and we don’t take that for granted, which is why we will do what the medical people tell us is necessary and appropriate for us to do to bring fans back,” Bettman said. “And again, everything we do is going to be governed by the doctors, the medical people and by governments at all levels, which will tell us what is and isn’t appropriate for us to do.”
Meanwhile, the NHL is yet to announce its plan for the amateur draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26 and 27 in Montreal before being postponed.
The league office hoped to hold a virtual draft next month rather than after the season but appears to have softened its stance after it received pushback from teams.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal. com or 702-387-5203. Follow @Davidschoenlvrj on Twitter.