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Report: NHL will use own rinks if it re-launches season, not neutral sites
As the NHL continues to work through re-start scenarios while operations remain paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears the league office has scratched one idea off the list.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Tuesday that designs of using neutral sites — say, North Dakota or New Hampshire — have been eliminated, and instead the NHL will choose from its own catalogue of rinks and regions to stage competitions in areas less impacted by the spread of the coronavirus.
Friedman notes that the idea is to have one rink designated for each division, and the intention would be to complete the regular season with centralized sites over the course of three weeks in lieu of more isolated regions.
Issues with local accommodations and the broadcasting infrastructure inside these college or minor-league rinks are a few of the reasons why neutral sites were ultimately crossed off the list, ESPN’s Greg Wyshsynki reported Wednesday.
Friedman mentioned Edmonton, Minnesota and Raleigh as three options for the NHL based on the regions’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the infrastructure in place and the restrictions on gatherings as outlined by their local individual municipalities.
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan later identified the same three regions as leading re-start options, while noting that no such front runner has emerged to host games for the Atlantic Division.
Participating in a conference call with Florida Panthers president Matt Caldwell, FOX Sports’ Andy Slater reported Wednesday that the NHL is aiming to use these select rinks to re-start the season in July, though no plans have been finalized.
This is a lot of information and reporting to soak in without anything concrete being finalized, but the main point is this: the NHL still recognizes that it must limit travel and create highly-controlled settings in order to conclude the season, only that it will use its own rinks to carry out that exact same function. And while some teams and fans will quibble with the fact that this scenario might offer the Oilers, Wild or Hurricanes with a competitive advantage, it’s highly unlikely, if not completely out of the question, that fans will be allowed in the seats.
While not an actual step taken toward the return of hockey, sports, and more importantly societal normalcy, the NHL appears closer to a plan in which it can eventually act upon.
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