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The NHL is considering a temporary realignment of its teams for the 2020-2021 season due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Bettman said on Tuesday that restrictions on travel across the Canadian border, as well as “quarantine limitations when moving from certain states to other states” in the United States, could mean the NHL creates a more regionalized roster for its coming season.
“On the travel issue, which is obviously the big unknown, we may need to realign temporarily to deal with geography, as having some of our teams travel from Florida to California may not have It may be that we are better off – especially if we play a reduced schedule, which we envision – to keep it geographically centered and more division-based; and to realign, again on a temporary basis. , to deal with travel issues, “Bettman said during a 2020 Paley International Council summit panel with fellow NBA commissioners Adam Silver and MLB’s Rob Manfred.
The NHL Board of Governors has a meeting scheduled for Thursday that will provide a progress report and possible recommendations for a season format, based on discussions between the league and the NHL Players Association. The target date for the start of next season remains January 1.
Bettman said the league is considering a few programming options for the 2020-21 season. Something not on the table: playing all season in the NHL bubble genre in Toronto and Edmonton, Alta., To end last season. But Bettman said opening teams in their own arenas was a possibility, with a modified bubble.
“We are exploring the possibility of playing in our own buildings without fans [or] fans where you can, which is going to be an arena by arena problem. But we are also exploring the possibility of a hub. You will enter. You will play for 10 to 12 days. You will play a bunch of games without traveling. You will go home, go home for a week, be with your family. We’ll have our testing protocols and whatever else you need, ”he said.
Bettman also indicated that the NHL is exploring “a hybrid, where some teams are in a bubble, some teams are playing at home and you go in and out.”
The NBA board of governors has unanimously approved a deal with the players’ union that is setting the stage for a season that will open on December 22 and with a reduced schedule of 72 games. Silver said the commissioners were in communication on issues related to COVID-19, particularly the NBA and the NHL, as teams from both leagues share arenas and, in some cases, team owners.
Silver said he feels the NBA will have fans in many of its buildings this season.
“We’re probably going to start in a way, where we’re maybe a little more conservative than most jurisdictions allow,” he said. “What we have told our teams is that we will continue to work with the public health authorities. The arena issues are different from those of the outdoor stadiums. There will be certain standards for the filtration and circulation of look. There may be a different standard for a sequel than there will be for fans spaced out in the seats. “
Silver said there would be consistent, standardized protocols across arenas, such as proximity between players and fans: “In some cases, for the seats near the ground, we will set up programs. test, where fans will certify that they have been tested – some within 48 hours, some within the day after the game. ”While Silver has supported continued expansion of the NBA playoffs through its play-in tournament , Bettman said he was not in favor of expanding the playoffs or “playing with the fundamentals of the game.” The NHL had 24 playoff teams last summer.
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