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Gary Bettman announces a 24-team playoff in the NHL's return to play plan. 2019/20 season declared complete, seeding is Top 12 in each conference by points percentage. Teams limited to 50 personnel to the hub cities, which haven't been decided yet.
Phase 2 starts in early June - teams can return to their home facility for voluntary training, with formal training camps being in Phase 3 - which will not start before July 1st. No dates for the start of the play-ins, round robins, etc. One hub city per conference.
NHL Playoff Hub Cities under consideration, per Gary Bettman:
West: Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Vancouver
East: Columbus, Pittsburgh, Toronto
West: Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Vancouver
East: Columbus, Pittsburgh, Toronto
Round Robin for 1-4 seeds with regular-season OT. Play-ins are best-of-5 with playoff OT. Second round can also be Best-of-5 at NHL's discretion - Conference Finals and Finals guaranteed to be best-of-7.
NHL East Play Ins:
Penguins vs. Canadiens
Hurricanes vs. Rangers
Islanders vs. Panthers
Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets
NHL West Play-Ins:
Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Predators vs. Coyotes
Canucks vs. Wild
Flames vs. Jets
All Best-of-5.
Penguins vs. Canadiens
Hurricanes vs. Rangers
Islanders vs. Panthers
Maple Leafs vs. Blue Jackets
NHL West Play-Ins:
Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Predators vs. Coyotes
Canucks vs. Wild
Flames vs. Jets
All Best-of-5.
Draft lottery has a pre-and-post qualifying format.
First Draw: June 26th. "Standard format", with Picks 8-15 being placeholders. If all lottery picks go to 1-7, no second draw. If a placeholder wins
Second Draw: After the Play-In, all eliminated teams get a chance.
First Draw: June 26th. "Standard format", with Picks 8-15 being placeholders. If all lottery picks go to 1-7, no second draw. If a placeholder wins
Second Draw: After the Play-In, all eliminated teams get a chance.
The above in this thread summarizes what Gary Bettman has unveiled in the NHL return-to-play press conference. My first personal feel here is that this is needlessly convoluted - especially the lottery part. Bettman now taking questions from Sportsnet via Tim & Sid.
