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On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman explained plans for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Draft Lottery.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Breaks Down Plans for Playoffs — Prime Time Sports Talk
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced a plan to resume play with the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bettman opened his statement by revealing that the 2019-20 season has been deemed complete; the next game played will kick off the playoffs.
The top four teams in each conference will claim automatic berths in the playoffs and will conduct a round-robin to determine seeding. Ties in these games will be broken by regular-season seeding.
Eight more teams from each conference (ranked by regular-season points percentage) will play in series that follow the playoff format. The winners of this round will play the top seeds in Round 1.
These matchups will go down as follows:
Penguins vs. Canadiens
Hurricanes vs. Rangers
Islanders vs. Panthers
Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets
Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Predators vs. Coyotes
Canucks vs. Wild
Flames vs. Jets
Bettman added that games will be played in hub cities, with the Western Conference playing in one city and the Eastern Conference playing in another.
The league has yet to determine which cities will be chosen, but Bettman did state that following cities are up for consideration:
Chicago, Ill.
Columbus, Ohio
Dallas, Tex.
Edmonton, Alb.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Los Angeles, Cali.
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
Pittsburgh, Penn.
Toronto, Ont.
Vancouver, B.C.
The first two rounds’ formats are up in the air, but the Finals will occur as a best-of-seven series.
Teams can return in early June with small-group gatherings on or off the ice, but full-team training camps won’t return until mid-July.
Finally, Bettman addressed the Draft Lottery, which could occur in two phases. The first phase will occur on June 26 with 15 teams eligible. These 15 teams consist of the seven not resuming play and eight blank slots for teams that are eliminated from the qualifying round. If a blank spot is selected for any one of the top three picks, Phase 1 will be canceled and Phase 2 will occur once the first eight teams are eliminated.
A lot remains to be seen regarding the future of the season, but there is growing optimism that the NHL’s resumption could cause the NBA and MLB to return soon.

The NHL is planning to allow players to return to their home cities to begin small optional group skates and workouts in early June. Read More

NHL releases Phase 2 of return-to-sport plan; expects early June roll out — Winnipeg Sun

NHL releases Phase 2 of return-to-sport plan; expects early June roll out
Paul FriesenMore from Paul Friesen
Published:May 25, 2020
Updated:May 25, 2020 12:41 PM CDT

The NHL is planning to allow players to return to their home cities to begin small optional group skates and workouts in early June.
The plan is outlined in a comprehensive, 21-page document covering Phase 2 of the league’s return-to-play protocol, released on Monday.
It allows for players to travel back to their team cities if they choose to, where extensive testing and prevention guidelines will be in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The document covers everything from the number of players who can skate at one time to how their equipment is handled to where they should eat meals and have showers.
It also includes a warning.
“This Protocol, while very comprehensive, cannot mitigate all risk,” the memo reads. “A range of clinical scenarios exist, from very mild to fatal outcome. COVID-19 generally affects older age groups and those with previously existing medical conditions, moreso than younger, and otherwise healthy, individuals, and we recognize that Players and personnel have family and household members who may fall into these vulnerable categories.”


Players who travel back to their team sites commercially will be forced to self-quarantine for 14 days before taking part. Those travelling privately or by charter flight can avoid the quarantine period if local regulations allow.
NHL and AHL players will be compensated up to $1,500 U.S. for travel, and any who don’t have permanent residences will be put up in hotels, provided the hotels have strict cleaning and virus prevention standards and the amenities players are used to having on road trips.
The memo says all players and team staff will be subject to a COVID-19 test, but only if there is enough local testing capacity “so as to not deprive health care workers, vulnerable populations and symptomatic individuals from necessary diagnostic tests.”
If testing is not available, returning players and staff will have to quarantine for two weeks.
Players and staff will also be subject to daily temperature and symptom checks before being allowed to enter team facilities. Anybody developing symptoms will be tested immediately and, if positive, will be quarantined.