NHL and NHLPA agree on protocols to resume season
24-Team Stanley Cup Playoffs
It’s exciting news for NHL hockey starved fans. For the first time in NHL history, fans will be watching their favorite teams compete for Lord Stanley’s mug in the dog days of summer. Albeit in a 24-team Stanley Cup playoff format.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly informed The Associated Press there is an agreement on procedures for training camps and protocols for playing games. The two sides are still in talks regarding an extension of the collective bargaining agreement, which is vital to the entire process.
For there to be a resumption of play, two-thirds of the league’s board of governors and most of the player’s executive committee and full membership must vote in favor.
If everything is ratified, then a 24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs could ensue in late July or early August, with the Stanley Cup awarded in October.
The player’s and team personnel must comply with Covid-19 protocols, such as quarantining from the public for the qualifying round and the next two ensuing rounds. Also, players retain the option of opting out of playing, providing they give proper notice no later than 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.
If everything goes according to plan, teams are expected to begin training camps on July 13. The next step is off to one of the two determined hub cities in preparation to begin play.
Since the March 12 shutdown, there have been nearly a dozen players testing positive for Covid-19 and an additional 26 players testing positive since June 8th. Should any player test positive during the resumption of play Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Don Fehr have the authority to postpone, delay or cancel any games should there be another Covid-19 outbreak.
Keeping our collective fingers crossed, it is looking increasingly hopeful that the NHL will return to action in the coming weeks, and fans will see the Stanley Cup awarded in October. Most importantly of all is that the world needs to overcome this deadly virus as soon as possible before we can all resume our lives as to the standards we enjoyed before this terrible crisis swept across the globe.
May God Bless everyone reading this, and I hope that you will all remain safe and healthy. We can beat this together, and together this will be beaten.
Update; NHL training camps to begin on July 13, with playoffs starting August 1. The NHL and NHLPA target December 1, 2020, as the start of the 2020-2021 season.
Keep You’re Stick On The Ice And Let’s Give Covid-19 A Game Misconduct.
24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs
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