Daly: Possibilities for remainder of 2019-20 season 'almost endless'

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is leaving the door wide open on how things may look if the league's suspended regular season ultimately resumes.

"I'm really not positioned a week into this to rule out anything," Daly said, according to The Canadian Press. "The possibilities on how this plays out and what we're able to come up with as an end to the 2019-20 season is almost endless."

The NHL, NHLPA, and Board of Governors have explored numerous scheduling options since everything came to a halt March 13 due to the global coronavirus pandemic. However, Daly recently said one of the league's top priorities is ensuring the 2020-21 schedule isn't compromised.

Daly has worked for the NHL since 1996, a tenure that's featured two labor-related work stoppages, but he admitted the league's current circumstances are unprecedented.

"I've never seen anything quite like it," Daly said. "There was serious concern about the situation. But I certainly didn't see it unfolding and unraveling as quickly as it did from the point that we ended that meeting to having to pause the season roughly one week later.

"It was quick."

The NHL doesn't have a clear timeline on when things may resume but announced earlier this week that all players must self-quarantine through at least March 27.

On Tuesday, an unidentified Ottawa Senator was the first NHL player to test positive for COVID-19.