Photo: LVRJ
According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the NHL is discussing playing the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in two cities instead of four, which is a possibility that is generating some buzz while teams are talking.
The NHL’s Board Of Governors is scheduled to meet again at 3 PM ET on Monday. The NHLPA did a lot of work over the weekend regarding returning to play and a lot of progress was reportedly made.
McKenzie added that multiple cities, including Las Vegas, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, St. Paul, and Dallas, are among contenders to host centralized games but the number of hubs has yet to be determined. Las Vegas could be in strong consideration because of the number of hotels and resorts that could be used for just the NHL with easy access to T-Mobile Arena, home of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Las Vegas Review Journal’s Steve Carp noted that in addition to T-Mobile Arena, the NHL could use the MGM Grand Garden, where teams like the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche have played preseason games before the Golden Knights entered the NHL in 2017-18; Orleans Arena, the home of the Golden Knights’ AHL team for the 2020-21 season; and City National Arena, the Golden Knights’ practice facility in Henderson, Nevada.
Toronto was the only Eastern Conference city mentioned by McKenzie, so they would likely be a heavy favorite to host centralized games as well, he noted.
By Harrison Brown
