Cities in the running for NHL hub city officially revealed!

The NHL announced on Tuesday, as part of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s press announcement regarding the League’s 24-team return to play format and 2020 NHL Draft Lottery, 10 cities are in the running to become a hub city for when the NHL returns to action.

Bettman even revealed all the cities still in the running, posting a clear list of where the NHL action could resume in the coming months. 

Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Saint Paul, Toronto and Vancouver are being considered.

Two cities will be named as hub cities hosts, and Bettman told Sportsnet’s “Tim & Sid” moments after his announcement is that the NHL will take the next three, four weeks before making a decision on which cities will be selected.

He also mentioned that  it remains possible that the Conference Finals and  Stanley Cup Final are both played in the home city of the teams involved.

On Monday, the league released a memo Monday announcing it is targeting earlyJune as the start date of Phase 2 of its Return to Play plan, including the opening of practice rinks for small, voluntary group workouts on and off the ice. Bettman has confirmed this information during his announcement.
Phase 3 will be the opening of official training camps. However, the NHL does not believe it will be able to get Phase 3 underway until mid-July. They anticipate playing in the summer and into fall, but no dates have been set as of now.

“At this time, we are not fixing dates because the scheduling of our return to play will be determined both by developing circumstances and the needs of our players,” explained Bettman during his important announcement.