It’s been almost a month since the 2019-20 NHL season was suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic.
We have absolutely no idea whether the season will return or if it is going to be canceled altogether. Like every other professional sports league in North America, it’s all about how COVID-19 spreads in the coming weeks.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the league is looking into the possibility that its season can continue with the playoffs being held at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. Friedman notes that this venue hosted the 2005 World Junior Championships, among other events.
It is also expected that the NHL and NHLPA will discuss alternative venues should the playoffs actually take place.
As of right now, this is still several weeks down the road. The United States is currently in the midst of the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. If the season were to somehow continue, it would likely be without fans in attendance.
All of this comes with the NBA considering Las Vegas as an option to host the remainder of the season. Outside of a few hot spots in Washington and California, the western part of the United States has not been as hard hit as back east or the south.
As of Monday evening, there were 222 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three deaths in North Dakota.