The number of candidate cities that could host the rest of the season in the National Hockey League (NHL) has shrunk to five. TSN inspector Pierre Lebruns reports that Edmonton and Toronto have been nominated, but the final decision could be announced today.
The Vancouver Canucks announced Thursday that the club will not host the rest of the season. It was previously known that Columbus, whose team “Elvis Merzlikins” plays in the “Blue Jackets” team, will not be among the organizing cities.
With the league’s decision on Thursday, it became clear that the final phase of the season could take place in two of the five cities – Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Edmonton and Toronto. Local media previously reported that Las Vegas had almost won the right to host the NHL season, but now the weight cups are leaning in favor of two other cities.
“Time is of the essence, so if the league and the players’ association (NHLPA) can agree with each other, the cities could be announced today. Hockey players discussed Edmonton and Toronto as potential options in the Players’ Association Committee yesterday, ”says the reviewer. “As far as I understand, Edmonton and Toronto are extremely close to hosting the rest of the season. Both are in good health. One of the sources involved in the decision hinted in favor of Toronto, but was not yet ready to make it public. Players will have further discussions tonight. ”
Sense I get is it’s extremely close between Edm and Tor bids, both seem to have provincial health clearance. One source involved gave slight edge to Tor but wasn’t ready to call it yet. Players will have more discussions this morning on it and get back to the league.
– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2020
“I am disappointed that the NHL playoffs will not take place in Vancouver, but we do not want to change the restrictions, because human safety and health are our priority,” said John Horgan, Prime Minister of the Province of British Columbia.
The continuation of the season with 24 teams is planned in two cities, one of them hosting 12 Eastern conference clubs, and the other 12 Western conference teams.
The agency LETA has already announced that NHL training camps will resume on July 10.
Club owners and players have already agreed on a format for 24 team elimination games.
The format envisages a series of up to three wins in the “play-off” qualification round, followed by a switch to the traditional series format for up to four wins.
The league and the players’ union also agreed that the playoffs would not take place in the traditional grid, when each team knows with which pair the winner will play the next round, and the teams will be re-seeded after each round.
The Eastern Conference season will continue with Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.
The Western Conference season continues with the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota’s Wild, Chicago’s Blackhawks and Arizona’s Coyotes.
Bruins, Lightning, Capitals and Flyers will compete in the Eastern Conference for the sown places, but the following pairs will meet in the qualifying tournament with eight teams: Penguins against Canadiens, Hurricanes against Rangers, Islanders “Panthers” and “Blue Jackets” v. Maple Leafs.
The Blues, Golden Knights, Avalanche and Stars will compete in the Western Conference for the sown places, and the following pairs will meet in a qualifying tournament with eight teams: Oilers vs. Blackhawks, Predators vs. Coyotes, Canucks vs. Wild and Flames vs. Jets.
There are five Latvian hockey players in the NHL district this season: goalkeepers Elvis Merzļikins and Matīss Kivlenieks (Columbus “Blue Jackets”), as well as strikers Teodors Blugers (Pittsburgh “Penguins”), Zemgus Girgensons (Buffalo “Sabers”) and Rudd “Sabers” Senators ”). For Girgenson and Balcer, the NHL season is over.
