Rumor: Talks of resuming the NHL season in…North Dakota?
Late last night, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote that the NHL is starting to “spitball” ideas on where to resume the season. Much like the NBA first suspending the season and the NHL following suit, they seem to be doing the same here. On March 29th, I wrote about that possible “point of no return” and mentioned that the NBA is looking to play the remainder of their season in Las Vegas. So could we see a Stanley Cup awarded at a neutral location?
Hockey Town, North Dakota
According to Friedman the NHL would need more than just North Dakota if they wanted to resume some of the regular season. “Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., makes sense,” he wrote because it was the “host of the 2005 World Junior Championships, the 2016 World Under-18s and the NCAA’s Fighting Hawks.” Friedman also called it an “impressive facility”.
Obviously, nothing is imminent. Hotel availability in Grand Forks would be a challenge. We also don’t know about travel scenarios, necessary logistics, or if the state itself would be willing to host such an event. But the area makes sense because of the arena, the likelihood of games being played without fans and North Dakota’s relatively low population density (only Montana, Wyoming and Alaska have fewer people per square mile).
Friedman
Latest News from NHL
The news coming out of the call between the President and sports executives past weekend is that he hopes fans can return by August. This lines up with the news that came out about the NHL asking their teams to look at arena availability in August.
That lined up with what Bill Daly said on a recent SiriusXMNHL program.
Important Video on COVID-19
I wanted to share this video from a NY doctor on COVID-19. Please watch it because it is extremely informative and and very reassuring.
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