Report: NHL asks teams for August home dates

While the NHL hasn't established a timetable for its eventual return, the league is looking at playing games late into the summer.

"Earlier (Tuesday), the National Hockey League did request from each of its 31 member clubs to provide available home dates for the month of August," TSN's Bob McKenzie reported on the latest edition of "Insider Trading."

If the NHL resumes in July or August, the players' contracts would need to be extended, as their deals expire June 30 with the new league year starting July 1, McKenzie adds. That would also affect players on work visas.

After the NHL paused its 2019-20 season amid the COVID-19 outbreak on March 12, the league asked its teams to work with their respective arenas to find potential home dates in July, according to the New York Post's Brett Cyrgalis.

On Tuesday, the NHL reportedly asked players and staff to self-quarantine through April 6, extending its initial directive by 10 days.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said recently that while the possibilities for the rest of the 2019-20 season are "almost endless," the league wants to avoid scenarios that prevent it from holding a full 2020-21 campaign.