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NHL reportedly hoping to restart season in July

By Dave Stevenson

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: Assistant Equipment Manager Brady Munger of the Detroit Red Wings packs a stick bag after the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals game was postponed due to the coronavirus at Capital One Arena on March 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Today the NHL announced is has suspended their season due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The NHL currently joins the NBA, MLS, as well as, other sporting events and leagues around the world suspending play because of the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: Assistant Equipment Manager Brady Munger of the Detroit Red Wings packs a stick bag after the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals game was postponed due to the coronavirus at Capital One Arena on March 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Today the NHL announced is has suspended their season due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The NHL currently joins the NBA, MLS, as well as, other sporting events and leagues around the world suspending play because of the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The NHL is reportedly exploring several options to restart its season, including getting back on the ice in July.

Like just about every sports league around the globe, the NHL is currently in a hiatus thanks to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The league was one of the first to shutdown, as they did so not even 24 hours after the NBA had its first player test positive.

Since then, the question on everyone’s mind has been “will there be hockey again this season?” Plenty of options are being explored, and one of them could bring hockey back sooner than any of us expected.

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According to Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 in Miami Florida, the NHL is looking into restarting its season as early as July. This means the league is trying to get in the rest of the regular season, which would be most fair to all of the teams, given the very close postseason races. It’s worth noting the league seems willing to sacrifice part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to get the regular season in.

Obviously, there would have to be some guidelines set. First of all, one can assume regular testing is a must. With the way the novel coronavirus spreads, constant testing would be absolutely necessary for the NHL to be able to play games.

Secondly, as Slater tweeted, there would have to be specific places where the teams can play. Right now, the league is looking into four or five neutral site locations with little to no fans. That’s unfortunate, but at this point, the league probably doesn’t have any other options.

Where could these neutral site locations be? One of them could be in North Dakota, as it’s used to hosting huge tournaments, such as the Frozen Four. Another option could be New Hampshire. But wherever the places are, they’d have to be a good distance away from any “hot spots”. Games in New York City, for example, simply aren’t going to happen.

UPDATE: Greg Wyshynski of ESPN is reporting the league is leaning towards having games in four arenas across the NHL.

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There are still a lot of things that would need to be worked out. And this is far from finalized. But if everything falls into place, hockey could be back soon.

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