Per a report from Sportsnet, Las Vegas will be announced as one of the hub cities to hold the NHL playoffs.
Vegas will be a hub city for NHL playoff games and we should expect the official announcement before June 22.
The other depends on how the Canadian government chooses to enforce the 14-day quarantine for those entering the country. (@reporterchris)https://t.co/JDL9NuFIqG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 13, 2020
Las Vegas Chosen as Hub City for NHL Playoffs
The Las Vegas Review-Journal stating that Sin-City will be hosting Stanley Cup games. We can expect the official announcement to happen before June 22nd.
The question still remains as to who the other hub city may be. That will be decided when/how the Canadian government handles the 14-day quarantine for people entering the country. Toronto has been mentioned as a favourite for the Canadian hub city and that will be in question until details of the quarantine can be resolved.
It was rumoured that Las Vegas would be in the mix for a hub city location. They have tons of hotels available and T-Mobile arena is a top notch place to put on the show called the NHL playoffs. They know just how to promote it and the league needs all the revenue it can muster after missing 15 percent of gate receipts and other forms of revenue. NHL hockey is a gate driven sport with concessions, souvenirs, and other forms of marketing used to promote the sport.
It is doubtful that even with Vegas being one of the hub cities, that they will be able to realise the losses that they sustained had the season ended normally and the playoffs began on schedule. Unfortunately, the pandemic had other plans. The NHL wasn’t the only major sport to be hurt financially by COVID-19 ramifications.
Vegas is an Obvious Choice to Host Playoffs
With the precautions needed to protect players against being exposed to the COVID-19 virus, the league chose Vegas for obvious reasons. The players can literally be bused from the hotel to the arena and Nevada has less COVID-19 cases than other states. The players will be tested frequently. Every needed step to ensure the players and their staffs of staying healthy will be of paramount importance.
The sad part of Vegas hosting the playoffs will be the per-game performance that takes place before a game. Without any fans being able to attend the game it will all be for the sake of TV ratings. It’s unclear if any of the pre-game entertainment will still be included.
What This Means Going Forward
NHL players were allowed to skate and workout starting late this week as long as it’s just six players at a time. While working out, strict procedures to keep equipment clean will be followed. This is just another step towards the long journey for the NHL to finish the 2019-20 season. Awarding the Stanley Cup to the winner will be the celebration.
Training camps are expected to begin on July 10th.
It appears that the boys may be playing soon!
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