Will Hockey Be Back Soon? NHL-PA Talking a 24-Team Restart, Two Hub Cities

Sources indicate the Return To Play Committee has talked throughout the weekend, NHL-NHLPA making progress on a 24-team format. Sources also stressing there's still work to be done, but clearly the weekend has produced some traction. More talks expected over next day or two.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 17, 2020

Will hockey be back soon? Maybe. Possibly. Who the fuck knows.

All of those are correctly answered here and because all we have is reporters stressing the “allegedly” on their tweets, here are my thoughts…

Okay, so the past 2 days have brought a lot of hopeful news to us. The NHL & NHLPA seem to be heading towards the 24-team restart plan and I can’t say I’m too mad.

See, a 20-team system makes a lot of sense. The match-ups will be closer in rank. The exposure for players and staff will be lessened. The end would come quicker and preparation for next season could begin. It would work better in theory.

But, as a Blackhawks fan, I get to see my team fight for a chance at the Cup. SO I can’t say I’m too upset about 24. Plus, we get to see more hockey, the league makes back some revenue it’s missing, and there is a better fight to the finish.

Now this morning, the vibe is that NHL teams will possibly be looking at two hub cities instead of four. It’s the one thing I don’t like about having a restart: players are being pulled away from their families and isolated just for the game to come back.

Nothing firmed up yet obviously but two hub cities instead of four is generating some buzz in discussions amongst teams. Las Vegas, for example, where an entire hotel/resort could be dedicated to the NHL and with easy access to the arena. https://t.co/PI8Se7MJsV

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 18, 2020

I do have to admit that having a whole hotel/resort to you and your buddies would usually be lit but everything would probably still be shutdown so that would suck.

Nothing is set in stone but this is the time to keep those Twitter notifications turned ON like it’s trade season. These decisions are one you’re not going to wanna miss.

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