NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made an announcement on Tuesday afternoon regarding the return-to-play format. The format announcement includes the New York Rangers as part of the play-in round for the 24 team tournament.
In his announcement that was covered on several networks in the United States and Canada, Bettman stated the health and safety of the players and staff were the utmost of his concern. Bettman also stated that the season will not continue unless they have clearance from Civil and Medical authorities.
Bettman has stated the regular season is over, and 24 teams will compete in a tournament. As expected, the top 12 teams in each conference will play, and seeding based on points percentage. He also stated that the tournament will play in two hubs that will be named later. Bettman also noted that each team will be limited to 50 personnel, with a small number of team staff allowed in an event.
As expected, the top four teams will play for a first-round seeding, while the remaining eight teams will play a best-of- series to advance to the first round. Once the round-robin and playoffs are finished, the league will conduct the tournament in a traditional bracket format, with match-ups based on seeding. Bettman also said the length of round two is still being considered. He also stated that he expects the Stanley Cup will played in one of the hub cities.
The New York Rangers have officially been scheduled to play the Carolina Hurricanes.
A look at the Eastern Conference Playoff Picture – outlined by the NHL Return to Play Plan.
The TOP 4 seeds in each conference will play a Round Robin tournament to decide seeding. pic.twitter.com/69TZ00WXfr
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) May 26, 2020
Bettman also discussed the phase policies, noting that the phase 3 procedure that would allow formal training camps will not happen until July 1 at the earliest.
Bettman listed the Hub cities that are under consideration, and they include Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Vancouver.
It was also announced that the NHL draft would take place after the season concludes. There had been some speculation that the league may try to hold the lottery and draft at the end of June. The NHL Draft Lottery will be on Friday, June 26. The numbers 1, 2, and 3 picks will be up for grabs. Fifteen teams, the seven who are no longer playing plus 8 more currently identified as Teams A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, will be in the lottery. The league will have the same lottery odds as prior years. This process is quite complicated and will be covered in detail in a later article.