The 12 qualifying groups from the Eastern and Western conferences were figured out by points percentage as of that date.”I want to make clear that the health and safety of our players, coaches, necessary support staff and our communities are vital,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said in announcing the Return to Play Plan. The Commissioner stated the choice on the center cities and when play will start will depend on COVID-19 conditions, testing ability and government guidelines. Games in the qualifying round will be played with playoff overtime rules. Commissioner Bettman told NBCSN there is a slim possibility the last three series can be played in the house arenas of the teams that reach those rounds, however that would need a substantial change in the outlook of the pandemic.
The competition will start with a 16-team, eight-series Qualifying Round and a Seeding Round Robin amongst the leading 4 teams in each conference to determine seeds for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL paused the regular season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus and its staying 189 games will not be finished. The 12 qualifying teams from the Eastern and Western conferences were figured out by points percentage as of that date. Seven teams did not qualify.
“I wish to explain that the health and safety of our gamers, coaches, vital support staff and our neighborhoods are critical,” Commissioner Gary Bettman stated in announcing the Return to Play Plan. “While absolutely nothing is without danger, guaranteeing health and security has actually been central to all of our preparation so far and will remain so.
“Let me assure you that the factor we are doing this is since our fans have informed us in overwhelming numbers that they desire to complete the season if at all possible. And our players and our teams are clear that they desire to play and bring the season to its rightful conclusion.”
The format was identified in conferences of the Return to Play Committee, that included executives from the NHL and NHL Players’ Association, and 5 players: Ottawa Senators defenseman Ron Hainsey, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares and Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk.
The objective was to discover a way to award the Stanley Cup this season.
“I certainly hope that we can. I certainly hope that holds true,” NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr told NBCSN. “I certainly hope that all the needed agreements, health and security, and financial, and the rest can be completed, so that they can happen. I hope it is for another factor, because if we can, that would recommend that the world is starting to return a little bit towards typical, and that’s something that everybody wants and is in everyone’s interest, and we can’t forget that.”
The Qualifying Round and Seeding Round Robin will be held at two hub cities to be identified– one for the 12 taking part Eastern Conference groups and one for the 12 Western Conference groups – and start at a date to be identified. Candidates for the hub cities consist of Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver.
The Commissioner stated the decision on the center cities and when play will start will depend on COVID-19 conditions, testing capability and government policies. An extensive system for testing will remain in place in each center city, and each team will be allowed to travel an optimum of 50 workers, consisting of gamers, coaches and staff.
“Obviously, we expect playing over the summertime and into the early fall,” Commissioner Bettman stated. “At this time, we are not fixing dates due to the fact that the schedule of our go back to play will be identified both by establishing circumstances and the requirements of the players.”
Video: Elliotte Friedman on NHL Tonight In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins (44-14-12, 100 points ), Tampa Bay Lightning (43-21-6, 92 points), Washington Capitals (41-20-8, 90 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (41-21-7, 89 points) will each have a bye and play each other as soon as to identify the order of the leading 4 seeds for the preliminary of the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference Qualifying Round will have four best-of-5 series: the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-23-6, 86 points) vs. the Montreal Canadiens (31-31-9, 71 points); the Carolina Hurricanes (38-25-5, 81 points) vs. the New York Rangers (37-28-5, 79 points); the New York Islanders (35-23-10, 80 points) vs. the Florida Panthers (35-26-8, 78 points); and the Toronto Maple Leafs (36-25-9, 81 points) vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets (33-22-15, 81 points).
In the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues (42-19-10, 94 points), Colorado Avalanche (42-20-8, 92 points), Vegas Golden Knights (39-24-8, 86 points) and Dallas Stars (37-24-8, 82 points) will each have a bye and play round-robin to determine their seeding order.
The Western Conference best-of-5 qualifying round series are: the Edmonton Oilers (37-25-9, 83 points) vs. the Chicago Blackhawks (32-30-8, 72 points); the Nashville Predators (35-26-8, 78 points) vs. the Arizona Coyotes (33-29-8, 74 points); the Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6, 78 points) vs. the Minnesota Wild (35-27-7, 77 points); and the Calgary Flames (36-27-7, 79 points) vs. the Winnipeg Jets (37-28-6, 80 points).
7 groups did not get approved for the postseason and their season is over: the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings. Each of them will take part in the NHL Draft Lottery, which will hold its very first phase June 26.
Games in the certifying round will be played with playoff overtime rules. The round-robin games will be had fun with regular-season overtime and shootout rules with ties in the standings broken by regular-season points portion.
After the round-robins and the certifying round, the conference-based playoffs will be continue in the 2 center cities. Each of the winners of the certifying round will advance to face one of the round-robin teams in the first round. The Return to Play Committee is discussing whether those first-round series will be set through seeding or by bracket.
The Return to Play Committee also has yet to decide the length of the second-round and first-round series, and whether the second-round series will be figured out through seeding or by bracket.
The conference finals and Stanley Cup Final will each be a best-of-7 series. Commissioner Bettman told NBCSN there is a slim possibility the last three series can be played in the house arenas of the teams that reach those rounds, however that would need a significant modification in the outlook of the pandemic. It’s most likely all video games will be played in the hub cities without fans in participation.
“It depends on what the world appears like,” the Commissioner stated. “If you made me guess today, I think we’ll remain in one of the 2 center cities or conceivably a third city. If things alter significantly and we have the capability to go back to the home markets, (the League will). We prepare for playing this without fans, however if eventually things alter, then certainly we ‘d reassess.”
Video: The guys share their thoughts on the season beginning
The Commissioner informed NBCSN that it’s not required that the Eastern Conference groups need to play in an Eastern hub city and the Western Conference groups have to play in a Western hub city.
The two center cities that are chosen will depend upon the situations in that city. For instance, though Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver are among the cities being thought about, the current order in Canada requiring those who enter the country to be quarantined for 14 days would most likely prevent one of those cities from being chosen.
“We are talking with the Canadian federal government about it, however if we get made with training school and we desire to go to a Canadian city and to do that we have to quarantine for another 14 days, that isn’t going to work,” Commissioner Bettman said.
Training camps might open in mid-July as part of Phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan, and Commissioner Bettman said the NHL believes the certifying and initially 2 rounds of the playoffs can be finished in a little more than a month.
“Obviously, these are extraordinary and unprecedented times,” he stated. “Any plan for the resumption of play, by definition, can not be best. And I am certain that, depending upon which team you root for or which team you cover, you can find some aspect of this bundle that you may choose to be done in a different way.
“But our company believe we have actually built a total strategy that includes all teams that, as an useful matter, might have had an opportunity of getting approved for the playoffs when the season was paused. And this strategy will produce a worthy Stanley Cup champ who will have run the postseason onslaught that is distinct to the NHL.”
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