Report: Pittsburgh, Dallas out of the running as NHL hub cities

One day after The Athletic's Aaron Portzline reported that Columbus and Minnesota wouldn't be used as hub cities for the NHL's 24-team model to crown a Stanley Cup champion for a pandemic-altered season, TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun confirmed on Tuesday that Pittsburgh and Dallas are also out. 

The Penguins released an official statement Tuesday afternoon: "The Penguins had submitted an aggressive proposal, with tremendous support from UPMC, PPG and local business, political and union leaders. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced several weeks ago that Pittsburgh was one of 10 finalists. Two hub cities will be selected.

"We know Pittsburgh would have been a great host city because of our fans and the support we received from the local business community, unions and our political leaders. We thank Commissioner Bettman and the NHL for considering us as one of the finalists, which is a reflection on how great of a city Pittsburgh truly is," said Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse. "We now look forward to training camp and getting back to game action."

Las Vegas, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Chicago are the six remaining candidates. Vegas is thought to a frontrunner to win a bid. 

Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened cities to groups of NHL teams even though the border remains closed to non-essential workers through at least July 21. It's believed all team personnel would be asked to quarantine for 14 days upon arrivals to any Canadian venue. 

NHL clubs are expected to begin training camp at home facilities on July 10, with July 30 penciled in as the resumption date.