Columbus no longer being considered as NHL hub city

Columbus is out of the running to be a hub city.

The Ohioan capital is no longer being considered to host teams if the NHL returns to finish the 2019-20 season, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

The state of Minnesota is reportedly also no longer in the running, sources told The Athletic's Michael Russo.

Columbus and Minneapolis/St. Paul were among the 10 cities under initial consideration, but that list was reportedly slashed to six Saturday. Las Vegas, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto are still in the mix. Chicago is also still being considered, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

"They had a lot of positives about our presentation, but they've gone in a different direction," Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "It's disappointing, but we were also among the last few cities to be considered. You take the positives along with the disappointment and you move on."

The NHL is expected to announce its decision on its two hub cities by the end of this week. The league is reportedly not considering delaying its tentative July 10 start date for training camps despite 11 players testing positive for COVID-19 during Phase 2 of its return-to-play plan.