The NHL is considering a temporary realignment of its teams for the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to commissioner Gary Bettman.

Bettman said that restrictions on travel through the Canadian border, as well as "limitations in terms of quarantining when you go from certain states to other states" within the United States, could mean the NHL creates a more regionalized alignment for its upcoming season.

"As it relates to the travel issue, which is obviously the great unknown, we may have to temporarily realign to deal with geography, because having some of our teams travel from Florida to California may not make sense. It may be that we're better off -- particularly if we're playing a reduced schedule, which we're contemplating -- keeping it geographically centric and more divisional based; and realigning, again on a temporary basis, to deal with the travel issues," Bettman said with a 2020 Paley International Council Summit panel with fellow commissioners Adam Silver of the NBA and Rob Manfred of MLB.

The NHL Board of Governors have a meeting scheduled for Thursday which will provide a progress report and possible recommendations for a season format, based on talks between the League and the NHL Players Association. The target starting date for starting next season remains Jan. 1.

Bettman said the League is considering a few scheduling options for the 2020-21 season. Something that's off the table: Playing the entire season in the kind of bubbles the NHL had in Toronto and Edmonton to complete last season. But Bettman said teams opening in their own arenas is a possibility, along with a modified bubble.

"We are exploring the possibility of playing in our own buildings without fans [or] fans where you can, which is going to be an arena-by-arena issue. But we're also exploring the possibility of a hub. You'll come in. You'll play for 10 to 12 days. You'll play a bunch of games without traveling. You'll go back, go home for a week, be with your family. We'll have our testing protocols and all the other things you need," he said.

Bettman also indicated that the NHL is exploring "a hybrid, where some teams are in a bubble, some teams play at home and you move in and out."

The NBA's Board of Governors unanimously approved a deal with the players association that sets the stage for a season that will open on Dec. 22 and with a reduced schedule of 72 games. Silver said that the commissioners are in communication on COVID-19-related issues, especially the NBA and the NHL, since the two leagues' teams share arenas and, in some cases, team owners.

Silver said he senses that the NBA will have fans in many of its buildings this season.

"We're probably going to start one way, where we're maybe a little bit more conservative than many of the jurisdictions allow," he said. "What we've said to our teams is that we'll continue to work with public health authorities. Arena issues are different than outdoor stadium issues. There will be certain standards for air filtration and air circulation. There may be a different standard for a suite than there will be for fans spaces in seats."

Silver said there will be standardized protocols that are consistent from arena to arena, such as proximity from players to fans: "In certain cases, for seats near the floor, we're going to be putting in testing programs, where fans will certify that they've been tested - some within 48 hours, some within day of game." While Silver supported a continued expansion of the NBA postseason through its play-in tournament, Bettman said that he's not in favor of an expanded playoffs or "playing with the fundamentals of the game." The NHL had 24 teams in its postseason last summer.