Photo: Concord Monitor
New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu confirmed that he has had talks with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about possibly having games in Manchester, according to WEEI’s Ken Liard.
.@GovChrisSununu confirms he’s talked to Gary Bettman about the possibility of playing the rest of the NHL season in Manchester, NH. It’s “on the table”
— Ken Laird (@KenLairdWEEI) April 17, 2020
While Bettman has acknowledged the possibility of having games in remote locations, he did not guarantee it and is just doing his due diligence as the league has been talking about possible formats to resume the season.
The NHL has been paused since March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which also forced the NBA to suspend its season and delayed the start of the 2020 MLB season.
Multiple states have reached out to the NHL about hosting games.
President Donald Trump has shown commitment to get sports to return but said that they will most likely return without fans in the stands. He said that it will likely be a gradual movement that will end with getting arenas full again. Prior to the pause, the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they would host games without fans in attendance.
While finishing the 2019-20 regular season and playing the Stanley Cup Playoffs as normal remains the goal, Bettman knows it might not be possible without pushing back the start of the 2020-21 season.
New Hampshire has had 1,020 confirmed coronavirus cases with 23 deaths.
By Harrison Brown
