If the NHL returns to complete the 2020 season and/or playoffs, the Bruins are interested in hosting at TD Garden. The league has been shutdown since March 12 because of coronavirus concerns.
According to a Boston Globe report, Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is among “roughly two-thirds” of NHL owners who have offered their arenas as potential host sites in a plan where the league would use four of its sites to host whatever games are played going forward.
Bruins President Cam Neely confirmed the interest.
“If we are doing it without fans, (the league is) going to try to make this the best TV event programming possible,” he said. “If that is the case, you might see different camera angles, because you might be able to bring the cameras down a little lower than you normally would because there’s no fans in the way. So I think they are looking at how can we bring the game on the TV a little differently than you see now.
“But it’s not a bad idea just to kinda drop-ship the teams in, keep them quarantined in hotels and bring them into games. As long as everyone is taking care of themselves in that regard, I think it probably gives you a little better opportunity to finish out the regular season in that respect.”
The league is expected to vet all interested locations/hosts. Access to hotels, appropriate medical and training care and a host of other logistical issues would likely be considered. Boston’s current level of coronavirus cases would likely have to improve considerably for it to be a legitimate candidate to host. Hosting what amounts to a tournament with multiple teams stationed in a city requires a certain amount of available medical personnel. Until cases drop in Boston, it’s unlikely medical staff could be spared.
The league has expressed optimism about returning but hasn’t commented publicly on any number of leaked scenarios about how it would resume if it did. An early report indicated that the league might use neutral sites, but an ESPN report said that option has been eliminated.
Any early games played by the NHL, the NBA and Major League Baseball are expected to at least initially proceed in buildings without fans to limit the exposure for the players, staff and fans.
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