Take this for what it’s worth but retired NHL enforcer John Scott has just tweeted that NHL camps will begin again June 1.
Scott, who is a very popular and connected former player, added that “European players are coming back soon.”
Just got word that the NHL camps will begin again June 1… European players are coming back soon #breaking
— John Scott (@johnscott_32) April 24, 2020
The NHL is currently investigating a plan to restart the season in potentially four centralized cities (one per division). According to The Athletic’s Jesse Granger and Pierre LeBrun, 12 cities are being vetted including Las Vegas, Minnesota, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Dallas.
“Maybe it’ll be two cities,” NHL Gary Bettman said to Sportsnet. “It’s not something that we can predict right at this moment. But this is part of the contingencies. It doesn’t necessarily have to be by division, although the centralization may be by division.
“But the particular location could be anywhere that isn’t a hot spot and has what we need both in terms of the arena and having practice facilities, because if you bring in seven or eight clubs to a particular facility and you’re playing lots of games on a regular basis without travel, there does need to be ice for practice.”
Recently the NHL abandoned plans to play in one neutral site due to logistical concerns including a lack of space and broadcasting capability.
Scott’s tweet on Friday comes as the United States crossed a harrowing milestone, passing 50,000 total deaths due to COVID-19. Despite many states seeing deaths increase, Bettman still has faith a summer restart is possible.
“The decision ultimately will be made by medical people and people who are in governments at all different levels, so we’re not going to try and do anything that flies in the face of what we’re being told is appropriate,” Bettman said.
“But clearly, we can play into the summer. Clearly, we can play next season, which we intend to do in its entirety, starting later. And so, with a lot of timing options, we have a great deal of flexibility, and we’re not going to rush anything. We’re not going to do anything that’s crazy. We’re going to try and do something, under the circumstances at the time, that is sensible.”
This story is developing.
Headline photo courtesy of NBC Sports
