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.