Pittsburgh has made the short list -- well, the fairly short list -- of potential "hub" cities where games could be staged if the NHL is able to resume the 2019-20 season this summer.
There are nine others, however, and Gary Bettman said the league's plan is to select just two of those, with 12 Eastern Conference teams competing in one and a dozen from the Western Conference in the other.
And even if Pittsburgh is selected, the Penguins won't necessarily have a home-ice advantage, because there's no certainty they would be competing at PPG Paints Arena.
That's because the 12 teams from the Penguins' conference won't necessarily be placed in one of the three Eastern cities -- Columbus and Toronto are the others -- and the Western clubs won't necessarily compete out there, either.
"We're not hung up on East/West," Bettman told a conference call Tuesday. "For TV scheduling, it may be better if we're in different time zones, but we're going to go to the places that we think are safest and make the most sense, medically, at the time."
In addition to the Eastern cities, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Vancouver are under consideration.
"We believe that all of those cities, as a general matter, could be able to host us," Bettman said. "We don't need to make a decision today. We'll probably need to make one in three to four weeks, and at that point, we will be able to better evaluate how COVID-19 is in a particular place.
"That could be positive, or it could be a negative. We need to make sure there's enough testing available. We'll be needing lots and lots of testing, but we don't want to interfere with the medical needs of the community. That has to come first.
"We could pick one or two locations, but if we made the decision today, that might not turn out to be as good of a decision as one we make three or four weeks from now because things are continuing to evolve in all of the places that we play."
Bettman estimated that the league will need 25,000 or 30,000 tests.
Plans call for players to be tested at least twice weekly when the small-group sessions are being held, more often than that during camps and every evening once games begin, with results to be known the following morning.
"(Testing) is really a foundational element of what we're trying to accomplish," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.
Bettman said the cost of testing, which will be borne by the league once the competition is underway, will run into "millions of dollars."
While it's entirely possible that some of those tests will yield a positive result, Daly said that wouldn't automatically halt play.
"(The NHL's medical advisors') thought process at this point in time is that one single positive test, depending on the circumstances, should not necessarily shut the whole operation down," Daly said. "A single positive test, or isolated positive tests throughout a two-month tournament, should not necessarily mean an end to the tournament."
Testing is just one of many costs the league will absorb while staging these playoffs. Bettman said they will cost "tens of millions" of dollars, and acknowledged that the loss of gate revenue is a serious blow for teams.
"Obviously, in the short term, the impact has been severe," Bettman said. "No revenues coming in and expenses still there. Our clubs, I think, have been very judicious and sensible, in terms of how they've been dealing with their own organizations.
"Fortunately, our franchises have never been stronger. Our franchises have never been better-owned, in terms of the strength of our ownership, although my guess is that most owners, in all sports, are probably not as wealthy as they were 12 weeks ago.
"But I believe, based on our condition, while it may be painful and (result in) some substantial losses in the short term and maybe getting into the intermediate term, we will get through this. We'll get through this with all of our franchises."
On other issues:
• Although the NHL has pointedly avoided mentioning specific dates, Bettman said "I think it's conceivable that we're playing at the end of July. Could be the beginning of August and then playing into September."
• Daly said the league has been assured by political authorities in the U.S. and Canada that players will be able to cross the border to get to their team's home city, although it has not secured an exemption from a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone entering Canada from officials there.
• Bettman reiterated that the league is intent on playing a full 82-game season in 2020-21. "There's no magic to starting in October," he said. "Our buildings, our markets, can handle it. We could start in November. We can start in December. We could start at the beginning of January if we had to."
• The league's current position, according to Daly, is that teams will not be permitted to sign players to contracts that would be in effect for the remainder of he 2019-20 season, although it is speaking with the NHL Players' Association about that.
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