Toronto and Edmonton are expected to be announced as NHL hub cities, Sportsnet can confirm.
The NHL’s return-to-play plan would see 12 teams from each conference go to the two hubs to resume play. In the special format, the top four teams in each conference by points percentage at the time of play will play each other to determine playoff seeding. At the same time, the fifth through 12th seeds will meet in best-of-five series to determine the other for playoff teams in each conference.
Las Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles were other hubs still under consideration by the NHL. Vancouver, Columbus, Dallas, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis/ St. Paul were also considered earlier in the process.
[radioclip id=4927488]Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported last week that the Western Conference would play in the western-based hub and the Eastern Conference would play in the eastern-based hub.
The entire return-to-play plan remains contingent on approval from the NHL and NHLPA on a CBA extension. According to Friedman, the extended CBA would include a flat salary cap for two seasons, a deferral of 10 per cent of next season’s salaries and Olympic participation (pending an agreement with the IOC). The agreement, if approved, would also include language that would allow players to opt out of returning to play this summer if they choose.
The NHL is currently in Phase 2 of its four-step return-to-play plan, which allows small groups of players to skate together at team facilities under strict COVID-19 testing and monitoring. Phase 3, which includes full training camps, is scheduled to begin July 10 but Friedman reports that could be pushed back a couple days. Phase 4, which includes the resumption of games in hub cities, does not have a start date yet.
Since Phase 2 began on June 8, the NHL says 15 players have tested positive for COVID-19 at team facilities out of more than 250 players who have been tested over 1,450 times. An additional 11 players have tested positive outside of the NHL’s Phase 2 testing in that time.
