Amalie Arena's proximity to hotels is part of its appeal as a potential bubble locationGETTY IMAGES
The NHL hopes to start the season Jan. 1, and if hub cities are used, Tampa is "considered a major candidate to be one," according to Eduardo Encina of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly cited Tampa's advantages as the "bevy of hotels near Amalie Arena that could host teams and the appeal to players of spending the winter months in Florida." Daly said, "If we went that direction (for hub cities) -- and I'm not suggesting that we're going that direction -- but if we end up deciding to go that direction, certainly Tampa would be strongly considered." Encina noted it seems "unlikely the season will begin with fans in the stands." Canada's continuing virus travel restrictions also "make a hub situation a realistic scenario." Due to pandemic effects, the NHL "believes Tampa could handle the Super Bowl and hosting eight of its teams in a hub during the first week of February." Other "potential hub cities" include Anaheim, Buffalo, Columbus, Las Vegas, Toronto and Edmonton. Regular-season hubs "wouldn't be the locked-down bubbles of the postseason because the players don't want to be isolated again for two or more months" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 11/8).
ON THE RIGHT TRACK? TSN's Bruce Arthur said of the election's impact on North American sports, "If you want NHL teams to be able to cross the border to a country where the pandemic is slightly under control, then this took a step forward today. As much fun as it is, the idea of an all-Canadian division in the NHL, eventually we want to be able to go back to the United States and go back and forth." He added, "Joe Biden today announced plans for a 12-person coronavirus commission to attack the pandemic in a way the Trump administration simply refused to do. That's going to be enormous. That kind of thing, a return to a normalcy, a return to something in which the United States is a place Canadians can go and be comfortable again, that is a huge part of what's happened here today" ("SportsCentre," TSN, 11/7).
GET A CLUE: In Toronto, Cathal Kelly wrote if the NHL were to follow the NBA model, preseason camp "should be opening three-or-so weeks from now." But hockey is "locked in its office trying to figure out how easy it is to rip the roof off a stadium so it can get a few paying attendees in there." The NHL is "still talking in terms of bubbles -- bubbles! -- and an all-Canadian regular-season tournament." Hockey has "already said it will not start before the new year and is now quietly pushing that start date further back." The NHL's U.S. broadcaster, NBC, also has the Olympics. That means hockey "cannot run through July." Kelly: "The less the NHL says on the matter, the less is looks like it has a clue" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/6).
WORKING IT OUT: Canucks GM Jim Benning said of a Feb. 1 start date, "I've heard the same things, but I don't know where that comes from. We haven't been given any sort of dates so far. Everybody is taking a wait-and-see approach to see where COVID is at." In Vancouver, Ben Kuzma notes a Feb. 1 start "would mean 60 games." That is four a week to complete the regular season by the end of May and then "cram in the traditional 16-team playoffs because broadcast partner NBC is committed to the Tokyo Olympics that open July 23." The NHL also "wants to implement a three-pronged plan to eventually house fans." The Canucks "would start with no patrons at Rogers Arena and slowly transition to fans filling a fraction of the arena depending on provincial health protocols." Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk has "suggested a safe-seating arena plan that would see 6,000 housed in small bubble groups separated by at least two empty seats and an empty row between bubbles" (Vancouver PROVINCE, 11/9). Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said, "I'm very optimistic. ... The Players Association and the league, the cooperation from both sides has been fantastic. It's my understanding they're working together now to put a plan in place" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/9).
