The NHL has been paused for just over a month, meaning players likely haven’t been keeping with their usual routines.
Players, of course, aren’t practicing with their teams and have been asked to self-isolate while healthcare workers are busy trying to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
There’s no timetable for when — or if — the NHL will resume play, though some cities have offered neutral sites to play games.
Commissioner Gary Bettman joined CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday and noted nothing is ruled in or out.
“We’re exploring and want to be prepared for every option, whenever the circumstances present themselves, so we haven’t ruled anything in, we haven’t ruled anything out and we’ll be prepared to go in whatever direction makes sense at the time,” he said.
When it comes to the players, Bettman knows they’ll need some time to get back into game shape.
“As much as you may try to stay in shape with a home gym, our guys haven’t been on the ice for a month and they’re going to need two-to-three weeks to get back into playing shape,” Bettman said. “So as much as we may worry about keeping everybody, not just our players or the NHL family, but everybody safe from the coronavirus, we also want to make sure that our players don’t jeopardize their health by coming back too soon and not being in game shape.”
Check out the full interview below:
"When you're in the position that all of us are in, you have to be prepared to relaunch when the opportunity presents itself, which means you have to…not rule out any conceivable alternative."
NHL Commissioner @Gary_B_Bettman on the prospect of restarting the hockey season. pic.twitter.com/DeKXbyfEk3
— CNN News Central (@NewsCentralCNN) April 13, 2020
There were 189 regular-season games left on the schedule when the season was paused, with the Boston Bruins atop the NHL standings looking to lock up the Atlantic Division.
