Daly: NHL will 'find ways to fit games' in August if required

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There's no update on when the NHL will return from its coronavirus-induced hiatus, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Friday the league could play deep into the summer months if it must.

"We think if we were required to, we might have the ability to play in August. If we have to fit games in, we'll find ways to fit games in," Daly told NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.

"I will say that it remains our hope, if not our goal, to be playing hockey sooner than then," Daly added. "Depending on how things play out, we'd love to be playing sometime in the spring, and then if we have to leak into early summer, we'd love to have that problem. But I don't think we're far enough along in understanding where this is going to know what's possible at this point in time."

It was reported earlier this week that the NHL asked all 31 teams to provide available home dates for the month of August.

Daly previously said the possibilities for the conclusion of the 2019-20 season are "almost endless" and that the league's top priority is to ensure the 2020-21 campaign isn't affected by whatever choice is made.

The NHL recently extended its self-quarantine rules for players through April 4 at the earliest.

Three players have tested positive for the coronavirus - two members of the Ottawa Senators and one on the Colorado Avalanche.