With Las Vegas the NHL’s first hub city, speculation over who gets the second spot is unclear. What was announced was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declaration that he wouldn’t stand in the way of a Canadian city taking that spot.
That’s good news considering three Canadian cities are asking to be considered — Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto. So, with Canada happy to be part of the decision (as long as it is okayed by the local health authorities) and the NHL interested in using Canada, who gets the spot?
Writer Steve Simmons is reporting:
My understanding is that Toronto is the choice the NHL would want if there was a Canadian hub city allowed. If that happened, it would be Vegas and Toronto for NHL games.
If accurate, that makes some sense considering the big-nature market of Toronto as it pertains to media and television. Edmonton has been making a serious pitch and has all the amenities in place, but Toronto is… well, Toronto.
What About Scheduling?
Further to the reports of two cities potentially being decided upon, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period notes, “On scheduling: Hub City 1 will host exhibition games, qualifying round, Round 1 and Round 2 of the playoffs, and Hub City 2 will host the same + the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final.”
He adds that every team will play two exhibition games during Phase 3 after they get to their hub city. Multiple games would be played each day, spreading throughout different time slots.
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