Bettman: Finishing regular season 'may not be possible'

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman would like to complete the 2019-20 regular season once games are allowed to resume, but he's unsure if that option will still be on the table.

"The best thing - and the easiest thing - would be if at some point we could complete the regular season and then go into the playoffs as we normally do," Bettman told NBC Sports on Tuesday. "We understand that that may not be possible and that's why we're considering every conceivable alternative to deal with whatever the eventuality is.

"Again, it doesn't even pay to speculate because nobody in any of the sports knows enough now to make those profound decisions."

When the NHL postponed play on March 12, every team had 14 or fewer games remaining in the regular season. On Tuesday, Bettman acknowledged that going straight to the playoffs could be unfair to bubble teams that believe they should have a shot to qualify.

The commissioner added that while he's hopeful about salvaging the season, he understands the complexity of the situation at hand.

“Our first focus is keeping everybody healthy and safe,” Bettman said. “We want to get back to playing for our fans, and for the love of the game, as soon as it makes sense and is safe to do so.”