There are a few certainties about the 2020-21 NHL season.
Games will be contested on artificial ice, most -- if not all -- players will use composite sticks and ... well, that's just about it.
Everything beyond that, including when games will begin and how many of them will be played, remains to be determined -- and those decisions might not be made for a while, depending on developments with the coronavirus pandemic.
Getting leagues up and running while the pandemic is in progress is challenging enough, but the NHL faces at least one major issue that the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball do not: Nearly a quarter of its member teams are based outside of the United States.
Given that no fewer than severn franchises are in Canada and that the Canadian border is closed to almost everyone coming from the U.S. -- and that most people from here who are allowed into that country must self-quarantine for 14 days -- operating under a normal NHL schedule isn't feasible.
Consequently, one of the options NHL executives have been considering is to have the Canadians clubs, which range from Montreal in the east to Vancouver in the west, play in the same division in 2020-21. That would eliminate the need for them -- or any other team -- to cross the border as long as severe restrictions are in place.
If that happens, the remaining teams presumably would be split into three divisions, each consisting of seven or eight clubs. Having each of the reconfigured divisions compete in a "hub" city -- a setup that worked well when the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs were staged in Edmonton and Toronto -- might well be part of the plan.
Grouping the Canadian teams would not have a direct impact on the Penguins, because all of the clubs in their home division, the Metropolitan, are based in the U.S.. (although there's no guarantee the Metro would remain intact for the coming season).
Jim Rutherford praised the way the league executed its "bubble" arrangement for the postseason, and said it gives him reason to believe that whatever it determines about staging the coming season, including having an all-Canadian division, would be acceptable.
"What they just did, under very tough circumstances, to get through this past season ... I'm good with whatever they decide. Everybody has different opinions on things. I'm sure some people will like it and some won't. But whatever the league comes up with is going to be good."
