Sharks could be on the road for a while

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Wednesday hinted at what may be in store in the coming weeks for the San Jose Sharks — and it involves spending a lot of time away from the South Bay.

“We have a couple of clubs that can’t hold training camp or conduct games even without fans in their current buildings and facilities, and we’re going to have to move them somewhere else to play,” said Bettman, who was appearing via video at a panel discussion held at the World Hockey Forum in Moscow.

The NHL is still looking at starting the regular season in mid-January, Bettman said. The 24 teams that were part of the NHL’s postseason earlier this year would reportedly each have a 10-day training camp. The seven teams that did not practice or play, like the Sharks, would be able to start their training camp a few days beforehand, although nothing has been finalized by the NHL or the Players’ Association.

Right now, though, if Santa Clara County’s ban on contact sports and the mandatory 10-day quarantine for returning travelers from more than 150 miles away remained in effect into January, the Sharks would not be able to hold training camp in San Jose or even start the season at SAP Center. The county’s restrictions are now in effect until at least Dec. 21.

If enough teams can’t play at home in front of spectators, Bettman said the league and the union are also discussing whether to group teams within their realigned divisions in hub cities around North America. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that Las Vegas could be an option as a hub city for a division that would include the three California teams, Arizona, Colorado and two other still-tobe-determined teams.

“If enough teams can’t play, again, without fans, in their own facilities, then we may have to move more and more towards a hub,” Bettman said. “It may be that some teams are playing in other buildings. It may be that a whole group of teams have to play in other buildings.

“One of the things that we’re doing for the regular season, as we’re planning it, is we’re going to just play within our divisions, so we’re not going to play every team against everybody else in the course of a season.”