Bettman Press Conference to go live in 15 mins. I will be tweeting out important info for those who cannot watch... this thread will contain it all... #NRD

Bettman: Games will not return till it is deemed safe by medical professionals

Bettman:

24 teams to resume play, ranked in each conference by points percentage

2 hub cities per Bettman... one per conference. Cities TBD

Phase 2 confirmed to begin “early June” as previously reported by #NRD

Phase 3, AKA training camp will begin no earlier than July 1st followed by the resumption of play, TBD

Hub Cities under consideration: Vegas, Columbus, and Edmonton among others including Toronto which was previously exclusively reported by #NRD https://twitter.com/nhlrumorsdaily/status/1262073501193830400?s=21 https://twitter.com/nhlrumorsdaily/status/1262073501193830400

The first round of the official playoffs (Round of 16) has yet to be determined whether best-of-5 or best-of-7

Matchups in the “play-in” round are confirmed as previously reported

Two Phases to Draft Lottery which is confirmed to take place on June 26th (phase 1)

7 that will not play + 8 clubs eliminated in “play-in” round are in the lottery.

The 8 clubs are placeholder teams that will be determined after teams are eliminated

If a placeholder club wins either 1st, 2nd or 3rd pick one the lottery, a phase 2 lottery will be held to determine which team will be granted that pick. Equal odds for each eliminated club

That concludes the information portion of Gary Bettman’s announcement. More to follow from #NRD...

“This plan will produce a worthy Stanley Cup Champion” -Gary Bettman