The NHL drew closer on Tuesday to selecting two cities to serve as quarantined hubs for its return-to-play plan.
But the wait continued as that decision is also tied into other crucial elements.
The league and the NHL Players’ Association still must finalize and ratify a return-to-play agreement and, with COVID-19 cases rising across most of the U.S., there is seemingly growing doubt among the players regarding the feasibility of resuming games.
The two sides also needed to work out a work-around to the fact that standard player contracts expire on June 30. Extensions are needed for the impending unrestricted and restricted free agents in order for them to participate in any resumption of play, or even the formal training camps that are scheduled to open on July 10.