The NHL announced Tuesday it will abandon the rest of the regular
season and go straight into the playoffs with 24 teams instead of
16 if it is able to resume play.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the decision is not a guarantee that
games are coming back. The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association
must still figure out health and safety protocols and solve other
issues, including where to play.
Still, ironing out a format represents significant progress since
global sports were basically shut down in March as the coronavirus
outbreak turned into a pandemic. Bettman has said the goal has
always been to play again and award the Stanley Cup, but details
remain uncertain and there is no announced timetable of any kind.
Earlier this week, the league and NHLPA issued extensive protocols
once players are allowed to return to their facilities. They
include a maximum of six players on the ice at a time, no contact
and no coaches for voluntary workouts. Teams at some point would
likely hold three-week re-training camps.
Instead of limiting the Cup chase to the usual 16 teams that
qualify for the playoffs, the league and players agreed to expand
the field to 24 of its 31 teams because of the unusual
circumstances.
That means the likes of the Montreal Canadiens are still alive
despite being nine points out of a playoff spot when hockey was
halted March 12. But not all teams will have the same path to
hockey’s storied trophy.
The top four teams in each conference ranked by points percentage –
Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia in the East and St.
Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas in the West – will play separate
round-robin tournaments to determine seeding.
The remaining 16 teams will be seeded by conference, setting up
best-of-five series in the East of No. 5 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12
Montreal, No. 6 Carolina vs. No. 11 New York Rangers, No. 7 New
York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida and No. 8 Toronto vs. No. 9
Columbus. In the West, it would be No. 5 Edmonton vs. No. 12
Chicago, No. 6 Nashville vs. No. 11 Arizona, No. 7 Vancouver vs.
No. 10 Minnesota and No. 8 Calgary vs. No. 9 Winnipeg.
Those games are expected to be played without fans in a few
locations. The league has not yet determined those sites, though
Edmonton, Alberta, Columbus, Ohio, Toronto and Las Vegas were
believed to be among the possibilities.
”It’s not easy getting everybody on board with all the different
countries, the players, the teams that were in the playoffs, teams
that may not be in the playoffs and getting that all agreed upon
with the union,” Buffalo Sabres owner Kim Pegula told The
Associated Press. ”For us to even finish the season and award (the
Stanley Cup), I know a lot of work went into it. But I know how
important it was for our players, our fans, our league to make sure
that we conclude it.”
The decision to call off the 189 regular-season games that were not
played ends the season for Buffalo, New Jersey, Anaheim, Los
Angeles, San Jose, Ottawa and Detroit.
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