NHL ramps up for 24-team restart
Hockey became the latest sport to finalize a return during a global pandemic after NHL owners and players approved an agreement Friday to resume the season — and with it an assurance of labor peace through September 2026.
Games are scheduled to begin Aug. 1 in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with coronavirus cases in the U.S. pushing the league into Canada for the summer and fall until the Stanley Cup is awarded in late September or early October.
Training camps open across North America on Monday, which is also the deadline for players to opt out of participating with no penalty. Minnesota's Zach Parise said earlier this week he doesn't think a lot of players will choose not to play, but the NHL already has one example.
The return-to-play plan, tentatively approved by the NHL and NHL Players' Association on Monday, was ratified by the league's board of governors and with majority approval from players following a threeday voting period, ending Friday. Along with it, the two sides also formally approved a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement.
“This agreement is a meaningful step forward for the players and owners, and for our game, in a difficult and uncertain time,” NHLPA executive director
Don Fehr said. “We are pleased to be able to bring NHL hockey back to the fans.”
The NHL is back with an expanded 24-team playoff format, but things will be much different from the norm: There will be no fans. There will be between five and six games a day at the start — up to three at each site, which will be heavily cordoned off from the public.
POLAK, BAERTSCHI OPTING OUT
Dallas defenseman Roman Polak and Vancouver forward Sven Baertschi on Saturday joined the list of players who won't be reporting to training camp for the resumption of the NHL season.
Baertschi told the Canucks he'd be opting out of participating in the expanded 24-team playoffs, following Calgary defenseman Travis Hamonic informing the Flames he won't be playing because of family reasons. Polak is not on the Stars' roster for the start of training camp Monday, and a team spokesman said the 34-year-old veteran won't be attending at this time.
Polak is a pending free agent who last month agreed to a deal in his native Czech Republic next season and told reporters there he wasn't planning on returning to the NHL if play resumed. Baertschi, who spent much of this season in the minors, is under contract through 2020-21.