The fine folks of Manchester, N.H., and Grand Forks, N.D., probably won’t be getting NHL hockey this summer.
For weeks now, the idea of playing games at a neutral site has been kicked around, with the aforementioned areas being named as the two possible locations. New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu wents as far as confirming he had talked to the NHL.
However, it appears that idea has been knocked aside.
The news was first reported by SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman and confirmed by ESPN’s Greg Whyshynski.
Latest push is for NHL to return to 2-4 of its arenas in areas where the COVID-19 outbreak has been managed and restrictions would allow it. Very much targeting completion of the regular season. No timetable. NHLPA needs to sign off on any of it.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 22, 2020
As Wyshynski mentions, the idea was going to have a lot of hurdles in the first place. But, of course, that’s going to be the case no matter what given the unprecedented circumstances we all currently are mired in.
