David Zalubowski/Associated Press
The NHL announced that the league will enter the 2d stage of its return-to-play idea on Monday amid its are attempting to resume the 2019-20 season, which has been suspended since March 12 due to the the COVID-19 pandemic.
A league press release acknowledged the next:
“Starting set June 8 – enviornment to each and every Membership’s pleasure of all the necessities situation out in the Piece 2 Protocol – Golf equipment shall be accepted to reopen their practicing facilities in their home metropolis to permit players to participate in individualized practicing actions (off-ice and on-ice). Avid gamers shall be taking allotment on a voluntary foundation and ought to be scheduled to minute groups (i.e., a maximum of six Avid gamers at anybody time, plus a restricted resolution of Membership workers). The many measures situation out in the Piece 2 Protocol are intended to present players with a actual and managed atmosphere by which to resume their conditioning. Piece 2 isn’t any longer another choice to practicing camp.”
The NHL is currently in the middle of a four-stage protocol to return to the ice.
Per James O’Brien of NBC Sports actions, the third segment includes formal NHL practicing camps starting up no earlier than the first half of of July.
The fourth stage involves retaining a 24-crew playoff in two hub cities to fabricate the 2019-20 season. Sixteen groups would compete in a most practical likely-of-five qualifying spherical. The winners would then join a historic 16-crew playoff tournament with most practical likely-of-seven sequence and reseeding at some point soon of.
The end four groups in each and every convention would play in a spherical-robin everywhere in the qualifying rounds so as to resolve the the leisure four East and West seeds.
The Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins are situation to battle in the Eastern Convention spherical-robin. The St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars will manufacture the equivalent in the West.
The league also wants to mediate which cities will host the the leisure video games. Per O’Brien, the NHL has narrowed down its checklist of hub metropolis candidates to 10: seven American cities and three Canadian cities. The overall likely locations are homes to NHL groups.
Per Sean Leahy of NBC Sports actions, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gave an replace on that entrance on the Ray & Dregs podcast on Could perhaps also simply 28: “I’m going to potentially enjoy to resolve collectively on this potentially in three weeks. I mediate in two weeks we are going to delivery narrowing down additional. Somewhere spherical three weeks we’re going to enjoy to drag the situation off and finalize the arrangements and make the deposits.”
The checklist entails Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Edmonton, Alberta; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, California; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia.
