Analysis: Why not Pittsburgh for NHL's return?

The NHL has been shut down for well over a month, and there's no reason to think that will change anytime soon.

Nonetheless, league officials have been assessing the pluses and minuses of various scenarios that might be invoked if it gets clearance from political and medical officials at some point this spring or summer to have teams resume practicing and, eventually, to play games.

Which of those plans, if any, actually will be implemented will hinge, at least in part, on when that approval comes, assuming it ever does.

Perhaps the closest thing to a certainty at this point is that if/when there are games in the reasonably near future, they will be contested in virtually empty venues. After all, it's unlikely that authorities will give permission for thousands of fans to gather in tight quarters, exchanging high-fives and hugs and, however inadvertently, an occasional bit of saliva while shrieking approval of a goal or big hit.

At least for now, one idea that has generated considerable attention and interest, at least in hockey circles, would have the league designate an unspecified number of "hub" cities in which in which a group of teams -- possibly those from one division -- would convene to play out all or part of the remaining 2019-20 regular season and/or Stanley Cup playoffs.

Some reports have suggested that the NHL is considering Pittsburgh to be one of them, and a compelling argument could be made that it should be on the short list of contenders.

(Just as a good case could be made for not allowing teams to play games in their own arena, to avoid them having a home-ice advantage over the others assigned to play there. Whether the NHL has considered that issue isn't clear.)

Now, whether the Penguins would even be interested in playing host to such an event at PPG Paints Arena is unknown, mostly because people inside the organization shy away from questions about it almost as if the question itself carried the coronavirus.

It would be understandable if their interest in doing so was tepid, at best, because unless the league would underwrite the event, it could be a big money-loser. After all, the Penguins would have to get the arena up and running and keep it exceptionally sanitary for multiple teams at all times for an extended period.

And they'd have to do it all while not receiving any money from ticket sales -- the primary source of revenue for NHL clubs -- or things like parking and concessions.

Still, Penguins officials have at times expressed a willingness to put the league's interest ahead of their own, so perhaps Gary Bettman could persuade them to have games here by selling them on the merits of doing so.

Which really shouldn't be difficult, considering how the city and its surroundings fare when a variety of important variables are evaluated.

Here are a half-dozen of them:

• Location. Assuming the teams that would compete here would be from the Eastern Conference, which seems logical, Pittsburgh would be a fairly central location. With Eastern franchises spread from south Florida to Canada, no single place will be ideal for everyone, but this city would be easily accessible for most.

• Locker room space. PPG Paints Arena has proven that it easily can accommodate everything from a Stanley Cup final (only two teams, obviously) to a national event like a Frozen Four or NCAA basketball tournament. Sure, it's been around for a decade now, but the building hardly is outdated. There's no reason a number of clubs couldn't set up there at the same time.

• Practice facilities. A practice rink adjacent to the arena -- similar to the set-up found in some other cities, including Columbus -- would be ideal, but there are several quality facilities located a short distance from downtown. There are, of course, two sheets of ice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, and the Robert Morris Island Sports Center on Neville Island is just one of a number of other venues in the area surrounding the city that would be satisfactory for workouts.

• Accommodations. There is one large hotel literally next to the arena, and another across the street from it. The NHL's collective bargaining agreement sets standards for the hotels teams are allowed to use, but Pittsburgh's Downtown area is sufficiently compact that finding acceptable quarters within walking distance of the arena would not be a challenge. No need for those who might fear contracting the virus while riding in a vehicle to ever get inside of one.

• World-class medical facilities. This isn't usually a selling point for a short-term event like the one being discussed here, but with the coronavirus pandemic likely to still be in the forefront of everyone's thoughts if/when hockey returns, Western Pennsylvania's exceptional health-care facilities would be a big plus. If nothing else, the region's bounty of hospitals and medical professionals could come in handy for the extensive, probably daily, testing of participants that would be required to help prevent a mini-outbreak of COVID-19.

• Low infection rate. Unlike the far side of the Commonwealth -- indeed, most of the I-95 corridor between Washington and Boston -- this part of Pennsylvania has reported a relatively modest number of coronavirus cases. That's scant consolation to those who have contracted it, of course, but does suggest that, from a medical perspective, having teams gather here likely would be less risky than having them do so in one of the cities that has been a hot spot during the pandemic.