The NHL will be able to play again in less than a month – with 24 teams in action, all in Canada – and could be close to enjoying peace of work by 2026.
The National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association announced on Monday a preliminary deal on a return-to-play format and a memorandum of understanding for a four-year extension of the collective agreement.
Should both agreements be ratified, the NHL would immediately move on to its expanded playoff format with 24 teams. The game starts on August 1st. Training camps are planned according to the plan would open on July 13, with teams traveling to their respective hub cities for exhibition games on July 26.
The capitals are Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, for the qualifying round and at least the first two playoff rounds, according to a person with direct knowledge of the agreements that have spoken to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league and the NHLPA are not this information was published.
For the conference finals and the Stanley Cup finals, the league is cautious and allows flexibility in the event of a possible increase in COVID-19 infections.
The extension of the CBA, which was due to expire in September 2022, was seen as a necessary step to restart the season, which was interrupted in March due to the pandemic. The expansion covers numerous on- and off-ice topics, including the possible return of the NHL to the Olympic Games.
If approved, players could participate in the Beijing Olympics in 2022 and Italy four years later. To do this, the NHL would first have to clarify marketing rights and health insurance with the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation, among others.
The NHL, NHLPA and IIHF had so-called productive talks earlier this year. The NHL participated in five consecutive Olympic Games from 1998 to 2014, before leaving in South Korea in 2018.
Financially, the CBA expansion would try to fix the loss of revenue that would result from wiping out the rest of the regular season, and there would be empty arenas for the playoffs.
Players would defer 10% of next season’s salaries that owners would pay back in three consecutive seasons from 2022-23, a second person familiar with the proposed agreement told The AP. The salary cap will remain at $ 81.5 million at least for the next season, the person said, even speaking on condition of anonymity, as the details were not released.
Fiduciary payments to owners to offset hockey-related earnings at 50/50 would be limited to 20% next season, with the cap falling throughout the contract, the second person said. If the owners still owe the players money, the CBA will be extended for another season. Escrow was one of the biggest complaints of players in recent years.
Two thirds of the agreements have to be approved by the owners.
On the union side, the agreements must first be approved by the majority of the NHLPA’s 31-member executive committee before full membership can be voted on. The Executive Committee is expected to make its recommendation by the end of the day on Tuesday. If approved, players are expected to complete their voting process by Friday.
At the weekend, the league and players agreed on an extensive set of return-to-play protocols with training camp and games. Players can opt out of the extended playoffs and have three days to make their decision once the agreement is ratified.
If the league advances, the matchups are already known: The four best teams from each conference (Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia in the east and St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas in the west) play a handful of round robin games to determine the seed rate.
These top seeds will then face the winners of eight opening round best-of-five series: # 5 Pittsburgh Penguins against # 12 Montreal Canadiens; No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 11 New York Rangers; No. 7 New York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida Panthers; No. 8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. No. 9 Columbus Blue Jackets; No. 5 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. 12 Chicago Blackhawks; No. 6 Nashville Predators vs. No. 11 Arizona Coyotes; No. 7 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 10 Minnesota Wild; and the No. 8 Calgary Flames against No. 9 Winnipeg Jets.
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