Whether the NHL returns this year is still very much up in the air, and it seems almost certain it won’t happen in Boston. However, pro hockey in New England, it seems, is still on the table.
The NHL season has been paused for more than a month due to the coronavirus outbreak, and it’s very possible that pause will turn into a cancellation. The league earlier this week extended its self-quarantine orders for players until April 30, so any potential return is still pretty far down the road.
But if a continued flattening of the curve gives way to a green light from public health officials that it’s OK for sports to restart, leagues still are going to have to be creative. It’s all but a certainty sports won’t be played in front of full stadiums or arenas for quite some time, leading all involved to kick around ideas for playing in front of empty arenas.
The NHL reportedly is toying with that idea, as a recent report indicated North Dakota is a possible destination for the league to finish its 2019-20 season. Longtime NHL reporter John Shannon also reported last week Manchester, New Hampshire, is an option for the league, something governor Chris Sununu confirmed Friday in an interview with “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI-FM.
“There is truth to that. I’ve had discussions about that,” Sununu said. “I don’t know whether that’s going to happen, but we are talking about it, yes. That’s all I can really say right now.”
Despite that last claim, Sununu went on to say more.
“It would be a very interesting opportunity for New Hampshire,” he said. “But even the venues would have to say ‘Yes, we want that’ because you’ve gotta make sure — what are the liabilities here? If a team were to get sick, how is it going to be managed? We’re working with some of those logistics, but it’s on the table for sure.”
More NHL: Brad Marchand Has Mixed Feelings About Getting Stanley Cup Handed To Team
Given the COVID-19 outbreaks in large cities that host NHL teams, this idea does make some sense, at least from that regard.
“I know they’re looking at a couple of different venues across the country,” Sununu told WEEI. “They are looking in the northeast. The worst part about the major sports is they’re all in the big cities, and every big city has a COVID problem because it’s so conducive to those densities. So you just can’t have it there. I don’t know whether other sports would look to this model as well, but we’ve talked to a few folks in the NHL, and we’ll continue to have those discussions.”
It’s easy to give yourself a popsicle headache trying to figure out what needs to be done — in addition to the OK from health officials — in order to restart a season in some relatively remote location. The NHL and NHLPA would have to come to some sort of agreement, and as the governor mentioned, the host communities and their arenas would need to make sure it was possible. All of that takes time, so sports fans have to hope these sorts of things are being discussed now so it doesn’t turn into a hold-up if the leagues are told they can resume play.
There’s also the issue of players needing to get back into shape, especially with hockey players. Stay-at-home orders have kept players out of the rink and despite efforts to keep fit, there’s no way to stay in hockey shape without actually playing the sport.
“The toughest thing is it doesn’t matter what you do off the ice — you can run, you can bike, but nothing really simulates the workout you get on the ice,” Bruins winger Brad Marchand said yesterday in a Zoom call with B’s season ticket holders. “You can’t replicate it. You can’t duplicate it. It’s completely different, so it doesn’t matter who does what in this break. We’re all gonna feel awful coming back, we’re all gonna be bad. It’s gonna take a while to get it back.”
