NHL to resume virus-hit season
August 1 in Canada
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[July 11, 2020]
By Frank Pingue
TORONTO (Reuters) - The National Hockey
League will resume its virus-interrupted season next month with a
Stanley Cup tournament in Canada after players ratified a
return-to-play plan and extension to a labor deal, both sides said
on Friday.
An expanded 24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs will now start on Aug. 1 in
Edmonton and Toronto without fans, nearly five months after the NHL
halted its season due to COVID-19.
"Today the NHL and NHLPA announced a significant agreement that
addresses the uncertainty everyone is dealing with, the framework
for the completion of the 2019-20 season and the foundation for
continued long-term growth in our league," Commissioner Gary Bettman
said.
"We know that all of our fans are excited about our return to the
ice next month and that has been our goal since we paused our season
on March 12."
NHLPA executive director Don Fehr called the deal "a meaningful step
forward for the players and owners, and for our game, in a difficult
and uncertain time.
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"Most importantly, we are pleased to be able to bring NHL hockey
back to the fans," he said.
A key part of the labor agreement, which will extend the current
deal that ends September 2022 for four years until 2026, is a pact
to have the world's best ice hockey players return to the global
stage in 2022 and 2026 after the NHL sat out the 2018 Pyeongchang
Olympics.
The decision to return to the Olympics, however, is still pending
negotiation with both the International Ice Hockey Federation and
International Olympic Committee.
There were three weeks and 189 games left in the NHL's 2019-20
regular season when play was suspended in March, but the league
eventually declared the regular season over in favor of getting
right into the post season.
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Boston Bruins defenseman
Zdeno Chara (33) sweeps the puck out of the crease after it got
behind goaltender Tuukka Rask (40) during the second period in game
seven of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues at
TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Bennett/Pool Photo via USA TODAY
Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Absent a COVID-19 outbreak that brings a halt to action, the Stanley
Cup, traditionally awarded in June, would be presented in October.
The concept of staging the playoffs in two hub cities is the NHL's
attempt to minimize COVID-risk by limiting travel for the
participating teams, who will all be tested prior to departure and
on a regular basis once inside the secure zone.
The NHL's Western Conference teams will play in Edmonton while the
Eastern Conference teams will start competition in Toronto. Edmonton
will host both conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final.
Under the unique playoff format, the top four seeds in each
conference will receive byes through a play-in tournament but would
take part in a three-game round-robin to stay fresh.
The other 16 teams would compete in a play-in round featuring
best-of-five series to determine the rest of a traditional 16-team
Stanley Cup playoff bracket.
(Additional reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Sandra Maler, Dan
Grebler and Sonya Hepinstall)
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