Tuesday marked the first occasion in which Bettman discussed the possibility of not completing the season.
The dark cloud hanging over the heads of hockey fans all over the world sadly may not be going away anytime soon. During a live interview broadcast with NBCSN on Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke about the reality of canceling the 2019-20 regular season due to concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak. Bettman also ensured that all possible options remain on the table, and more time needs to pass before making a decision.
“From an NHL standpoint, we’re viewing all our options. We want to be ready to go as soon as we get a green light — and the green light may not be crystal clear because there may still be some places in the [U.S. and Canada] where we can’t play and other places where you can,” Bettman said. “We’re looking at all options. Nothing’s been ruled in, nothing’s been ruled out.”
Bettman added that the ideal scenario would be to complete the season with fairness to all teams involved in tightly contested playoff races. According to recent reports, the NHL has looked into holding games at a neutral site in North Dakota, and Bettman didn’t rule out that possibility.
“Our clubs, if nothing, are extraordinarily competitive, and whatever we do has to be fair, which is why there’s been some public speculation in the media about neutral site games in remote parts of the country,” Bettman said. “That’s just part of considering all the potential options, depending on how we find the circumstances. But when you talk about fairness, we also have issues about if we get to play a playoffs, who gets in if we can’t complete the regular season.”
“The best thing, and the easiest thing, would be if at some point we could complete the regular season and then go into the playoffs as we normally do. We understand that may not be possible and that’s why we’re considering every conceivable to deal with whatever the eventuality is.”
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