George Richards, FHN Publisher
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday the start to the 2020-21 season could be held in hub cities with temporary divisional realignments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the 2020 Paley International Council Summit as reported by NHL.com, Bettman laid out a number of scenarios in which the league could start its season.
Bettman added that the league is still targeting Jan. 1 as its start date.
According to Bettman, the league is looking at ways to start the season safely and with reduced travel for teams.
One idea which had been previously floated was starting in various hub cities.
Because the Canadian border is expected to remain closed to “nonessential” travel, the expectation is the seven teams based in Canada would play in their country and within their own division.
In the NBA, for instance, the Toronto Raptors are exploring a temporary relocation to the U.S. Bettman acknowledged it is not feasible to have seven NHL teams do the same.
The rest of the NHL is based in the U.S. and would likely be split up into three divisions.
The Panthers, for instance, would leave the Atlantic Division (presumptively for just the one season) and be paired up with other teams as geographically close as they could.
One option would be to keep the teams in the Northeast together (Boston, Buffalo, New York/New Jersey, Washington, Philadelphia) with the likes of Florida, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Nashville, Columbus, etc.) in another division.
Most of the teams west of the Mississippi could form a western division.
If the league was split into new divisions, they could all start their seasons at a designated hub city where the teams would gather and play a chunk of games before heading back home.
“You’ll play for 10 to 12 days. You’ll play a bunch of games without traveling,’’ Bettman said per NHL.com.
“You’ll go back, go home for a week, be with your family. We’ll have our testing protocols and all the other things you need.
“It’s not going to be quite as effective as a bubble, but we think we can, if we go this route, minimize the risks to the extent practical and sensible.”
For the Panthers, a city such as Columbus or Pittsburgh could be a starting point based on hotel and ice availability near the arena where games would take place.
Tampa was considered as a spot for the postseason bubble but likely would not be to start the 2020-21 season despite the favorable weather.
The reason: Raymond James Stadium is scheduled to host the Super Bowl in February, and even though attendance would be limited, it would likely need all the hotel rooms it has.
South Florida would also likely be out of the running due to the lack of hotels near BB&T Center.
According to NHL.com, Bettman said “he would never ask players to return to a bubble for an entire season” following the previous postseason.
It is possible, teams could start their season in a hub city and, as things improve, return home and play in their home rinks without fans or with limited capacity.
Any return for the 2020-21 season would have to be agreed to by both the NHL and NHLPA.
Bettman also addressed the likelihood of a reduced schedule in 2020-21 (the league has already postponed marquee events such as outdoor games and All-Star Weekend which was to be hosted by the Panthers) and one which would be based off geography.