NHL reconsidering centralized, four-city return after player concerns voiced
By Mary Clarke
The NHL continues to sift through plans and ideas for a hopeful resumption of the 2019-20 season, but no idea is without flaws.
Every week, it seems as if there is at least one new development in what format the NHL hopes to take if and when the 2019-20 season can resume. Since the pause of the season in mid-March due to the coronavirus, the NHL has been proactive in throwing any and all ideas at the wall for the league’s hopeful return when it is safe enough to do so.
On Friday, a report from the New York Post threw some cold water on the NHL’s latest idea of a centralized, four-city format that had grown in popularity over the last week. The idea — which the NHL was already vetting up to 12 cities for — would see each of the league’s four divisions have a host city where games would be played upon the season’s return.
Locations for the theorized return would possibly include Minnesota, Edmonton, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Dallas.
However, according to the report from Larry Brooks, some NHL players have pushed back on the idea, as it would keep them from seeing their families for multiple months. Under the centralized format, players, staff and more would be sequestered in hotels away from their families until play has completed for their teams.
It’s not an ideal situation, for sure, and it seems as if it’s causing some worry among NHL players, so much so that the league is starting to reconsider the idea altogether. However, according to the New York Post, the idea has not been rejected outright by the players so far as the league continues to try to find a consensus best option among those involved.
No idea will be perfect if and when the league can resume the 2019-20 season. Seperating players and team staff into their own bubbles for months would have to have rigorous safety precautions in place, something the NHL may not be able to provide. It’s a tough situation all around, and an incredibly fluid one as the league looks to find the safest, most fair way to resume the season later this year.
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