From Bettman:
Following are details of the Return To Play Plan:
Regular Season
* The 2019-20 regular season is declared concluded through games of March 11. The 189 games originally scheduled from March 12 – April 4 will not be played.
* 24 teams will resume play: the top 12 in each Conference on the basis of points percentage at the pause (through games of March 11).
Timeline
* Since the League’s pause on March 12, the League has been in Phase 1 with teams having been instructed to self-isolate as much as possible.
Phase 2 – Early June
* In early June, it is expected that teams will be permitted to return to home facilities for small group, voluntary, and on- and off-ice training.
Phase 3 – Not Earlier than First Half of July
* Not earlier than first half of July, formal training camps will begin after guidance from medical and civil authorities.
Phase 4 – Timing TBD
* 24 teams in 2 “hub” cities will compete in Seeding Round Robins, a Qualifying Round and Conference-based Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The 2 “hub” cities will be selected from among the following:
- Chicago, IL
- Columbus, OH
- Dallas, TX
- Edmonton, AB
- Las Vegas, NV
- Los Angeles, CA
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Toronto, ON
- Vancouver, BC
* Each Conference is assigned a “hub” city with secure hotels, arena, practice facilities and in-market transportation.
* Teams will be limited to 50 personnel in the “hub” city with only a small number of support staff permitted to enter the event areas.
* Timing and sites will be determined at a future date and will be dependent on COVID-19 conditions, testing ability and government regulations.
Competitive Format
* In each Conference, teams seeded by points percentage.
Round Robin: The top 4 teams play for First Round seeding (regular-season overtime rules in effect)
Qualifying Round: The remaining 8 teams play best-of-5 series to advance to the First Round (playoff overtime rules in effect)
First Round and Second Round: Format (seeding vs. bracket) and series lengths to be determined
Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final: Best-of-7 series
* The winners from the Qualifying Round play the top 4 seeds in the First Round. Individual First Round series matchups remain to be determined.
City 1
Team | Conf. Rank | P% |
Boston Bruins | 1 | .714 |
Tampa Bay Lightning | 2 | .657 |
Washington Capitals | 3 | .652 |
Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | .645 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 | .623 |
Carolina Hurricanes | 6 | .596 |
New York Islanders | 7 | .588 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 8 | .579 |
Columbus Blue Jackets | 9 | .579 |
Florida Panthers | 10 | .565 |
New York Rangers | 11 | .564 |
Montreal Canadiens | 12 | .500 |
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City 1 – Round Robin for Seeding in First Round
1. Boston Bruins
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Washington Capitals
4. Philadelphia Flyers
City 1 – Best-of-5 Qualifying Round
#5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #12 Montreal Canadiens
#6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #11 New York Rangers
#7 New York Islanders vs. #10 Florida Panthers
#8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #9 Columbus Blue Jackets
City 2
Team | Conf. Rank | P% |
St. Louis Blues | 1 | .662 |
Colorado Avalanche | 2 | .657 |
Vegas Golden Knights | 3 | .606 |
Dallas Stars | 4 | .594 |
Edmonton Oilers | 5 | .585 |
Nashville Predators | 6 | .565 |
Vancouver Canucks | 7 | .565 |
Calgary Flames | 8 | .564 |
Winnipeg Jets | 9 | .563 |
Minnesota Wild | 10 | .558 |
Arizona Coyotes | 11 | .529 |
Chicago Blackhawks | 12 | .514 |
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City 2 – Round Robin for Seeding in First Round
1. St. Louis Blues
2. Colorado Avalanche
3. Vegas Golden Knights
4. Dallas Stars
City 2 – Best-of-5 Qualifying Round
#5 Edmonton Oilers vs. #12 Chicago Blackhawks
#6 Nashville Predators vs. #11 Arizona Coyotes
#7 Vancouver Canucks vs. #10 Minnesota Wild
#8 Calgary Flames vs. #9 Winnipeg Jets