Toronto, Edmonton to be hub cities

Players’ association and league discuss safety, possible CBA extension

One of the feel-good aspects of the NHL’s plan to have Toronto and Edmonton as hub cities when hockey returns is the fact fans will see the Stanley Cup hosted at a Canadian rink for the first time since 1993.

The two cities have emerged from what was a group of 10 cities interested in being home to playoff games after the league’s layoff, which is nearing four months. Chicago and Las Vegas were believed to be the other finalists. The news was first reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie and confirmed by an industry source, although there were still details to be worked out Wednesday.

The decision is one of several hurdles the NHL has to navigate to restart the league during the COVID-19 pandemic. The league and the NHL players’ association are also discussing a possible extension to the collective bargaining agreement, with both sides realizing they must deal with some economic pain if hockey is to get back on skates.

But it was details surrounding a safe return — testing, hotels, cohort quarantines — that had the two sides talking through Canada Day.

Toronto and Edmonton will serve as hosts for the 24-team playoff run — with 12 teams in each city — and as platforms for controlled bubbles where about 600 players and staff in each city must live and play in isolation.

The Leafs and 11 other Eastern Conference teams are expected to gather in Toronto, with Scotiabank Arena serving as the main game centre. The CocaCola Coliseum, home to the AHL Marlies, and the surrounding CNE complex could also host games, practices and the players themselves. The games in Edmonton are set to be played at Rogers Place, with Western Conference teams bubbled in the Ice District, a multi-use area being developed around the rink.

Teams hope to enter Phase 3 of the NHL’s four-phase return plan July 10, with the opening of summer training camps. Phase 4, when games start again, could follow two weeks later. If the league’s plan survives the pandemic, the Stanley Cup should be awarded in early October.

The threat of COVID-19 remains, however, and the continued growth of new cases in the United States was likely a deciding factor in the NHL turning away from the American cities interested in acting as hosts.

The league has been in Phase 2, with players allowed to practise in small groups at their team’s facilities, since June 8. Fifteen players in Phase 2 have tested positive in that time, as have another 11 players not yet with their teams. The Canadian government has permitted the NHL to isolate player-staff groups in cohort quarantines, a modification from Canada’s14-day quarantine policy for anyone entering Canada from international travel.

It's not certain yet whether teams will need to travel to Edmonton or Toronto to quarantine in the bubble or be allowed to quarantine at their home cities before reporting to their hubs. Each team will bring about 50 players and staff to the hub cities, and will follow testing and restricted movement protocols worked out by the league and local governments.

The details of the agreement could be presented to the players for a vote by this weekend.

CBA discussions have included some concessions by the players — 20 per cent escrow rates that ease in ensuing years, and a continuation of the $81.5million (U.S.) salary cap for the next two seasons. The two sides also traded scenarios over contract structure and signing bonuses, with more than $440 million in bonuses due to players July 1 and afterward. Leafs centre Auston Matthews, for instance, was expecting $15.2 million in bonuses.

The league was said to be willing to allow NHL players to return to the Olympics in 2022 and 2026.