NHL season to restart on Aug 1 in Canadian cities
>>NEW YORK: The National Hockey League’s board of governors and the players’ union approved a deal on Friday that paves the way for the pandemic-disrupted season to resume on Aug 1.
The package also includes a fouryear extension of the collective bargaining agreement which will run through the 2025-26 season.
“Today, the NHL and the 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 the continued longterm growth of our league,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.
“While we have all worked very hard to try to address the risks of Covid-19, we know that health and safety are and will continue to be our priorities.
“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.”
Training camps will open tomorrow followed by a 24-team tournament that will take place in two Canadian cities, Edmonton, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario.
The opening of training camp next week comes four months after play was shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile Calgary Flames defenceman Travis Hamonic on Friday night opted out of the restart to become the first NHL player to express he will skip the remainder of the season.
The 29-year-old cited the health of his two-year-old daughter as the prime reason. According to published reports, his daughter was hospitalised in January of 2019 when she was eight months old due to a respiratory illness.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving said the organisation accepted Hamonic’s reasoning.