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| - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league wants players and staff to self-isolate at home as it considers how to proceed during its indefinite hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview posted on NHL.com, Bettman said the league was working with medical personnel to determine how long self-isolation might be necessary. "Then we'll be looking to progress in terms of activities once we get a handle on whether or not anybody in the short term is going to test positive," he said. Bettman said that to his knowledge no player or league employee has yet tested positive for COVID-19. While he remained optimistic of resuming play, he said it was too soon to tell when that might be possible and how the remainder of the season might play out. "We may have the benefit of time to complete the season and the playoffs in an appropriate manner, and there's no reason at this point in time to preclude any of our options, even though we don't know what they are yet," Bettman said. He said a task force of senior executives "basically meets twice a day to discuss every conceivable issue that we could be dealing with." While NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that he thought his league's hiatus would likely last "at least 30 days" Bettman wasn't ready to even speculate on a time frame. "This isn't an independent determination," he said. "We're going to have to rely on others as to when it's safe, which is why people can speculate but nobody can predict with certainty." He did say that once play resumes it could possibly continue beyond the scheduled end of the Stanley Cup finals in June. "We're looking at every conceivable alternative," Bettman said. "We're looking at the calendar. We're looking at what we think is and isn't doable in terms of a timeframe to continue to play. "Obviously it's conceivable that we'll play beyond the time we were originally scheduled to conclude. How much longer we could do that is something we're trying to determine, and not just what the timing of all this might be. "We also are considering what playing alternatives there are that fit within the window that may be left. "And so it's a bit of a puzzle, and part of the problem is, we don't know what all the pieces are yet." Bettman said he remained in close contact with NHL Players Association executive director Don Fehr. "He's the last one I said good night to and the first one I say good morning to," Bettman said. bb/rcw
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