NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is scheduled to make an announcement on Tuesday, surrounding the league’s “return to play plan” for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
The announcement will be at 1:30 pm PT and be made available on live TV, as well as streaming options on NHL.com and across the National Hockey League social media platforms.
Bettman’s announcement comes one day after the league revealed its plans for ‘phase two,’ which points to teams returning to practice facilities in early June.
The NHLPA Executive Board has authorized further negotiations with the NHL on a 24-team return to play format, subject to reaching an overall agreement with the League on resuming the 2019-20 season: https://t.co/SIzQYyooEE pic.twitter.com/9TftmApiGJ
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) May 23, 2020
Hockey fans will have to wait until this afternoon in order to confirm the topic of Bettman’s announcement, however, many hockey insiders believe it will focus around a proposed 24-team playoff format. This proposed format would have the Vancouver Canucks playing the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
Again, let me repeat myself, the format is just the first step. So many more hurdles to overcome, more negotiations needed between NHL/NHLPA over hub cities, testing, protocols… the format is just Step 1. No guarantee yet the 2019-20 season is completed despite best intentions
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 26, 2020
One NHL Insider, Pierre LeBrun, tweeted out a word of caution following the news about today’s announcement, in an effort to keep fans’ excitement at bay.
“The format is just step 1. No guarantee yet the 2019-20 season is completed despite best intentions,” said LeBrun.
He points to other complications surrounding the current COVID-19 landscape that could possibly derail any ‘return to play’ plans.
There is a possibility that Bettman’s announcement includes details about playoff hub cities as well. BC Premier John Horgan has expressed interest in hosting games to the NHL commissioner, offering multiple British Columbian rinks as playable sites.
Commissioner Bettman’s announcement will be the first of its kind by any major sports league in North America since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this point, very few confirmed details are available as to what Bettman will unveil during the May 26 press conference, so hockey fans will just have to tune in to find out.
A Zoom conference call will be held at 3 pm PT, following Bettman’s announcement, for media availability.
Graham Cox
