from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

...while there may be more questions than answers, the NHL’s board of governors could get a look at what next season will look like as early as Thursday.

The expectation is league commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly will hold a conference call with the governors this week to discuss the concepts and options they’re looking at to get next season under way.

Normally, conference calls are held on a bi-weekly basis on Monday afternoons, so this one is out of the ordinary, but nobody is sure if the league will have anything to announce until a firm plan is in place for next season.

While the NHL remains focused on starting next season sometime around Jan. 1, the league hasn’t sat down with the governors to discuss the options, but you can expect they’ll get some kind of update this week....

No, the league hasn’t met with the players on the Return to Play committee as a group, but there have been regular talks between Bettman and Donald Fehr, the head of the NHL Players’ Association. Every possible option is on the table so the league can make a safe return during the threat of the novel coronavirus.

There has been speculation the league may not start until early February, but NHL officials may not want to wait that long if they can find a formula for a return. There has been talk the NBA will start next season Dec. 22 because of the possibility of playing through the holiday season, and the NHL is determined to play this winter.

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