The National Hockey League has made another stride nearer to returning for another season. The NHL has affirmed that there is a provisional agreement between the league and the NHLPA to formally begin a 56-game regular season on Jan. 13.
Frank Seravalli of TSN Sports reports that the seven teams that didn’t qualify for the 24-team postseason bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton will be permitted to begin training camp on Dec. 30. Those that made the journey to the bubbles, paying little mind to when they were disposed of from playoff contention, can begin their training camps on Jan. 3, with the regular season beginning a simple 10 days after the fact.
This, obviously, is subject to an official approval of this schedule by the board of governors and the players association. As Seravalli notes in a follow-up, the dates could in any case be pushed back.
Here are a couple different goodies that have been probably settled upon with respect to this upcoming NHL season.
One thing clearly missing from this is the issue with respect to how to manage Canadian NHL teams if the nation decides to not approve conventions permitting play, whether or not it’s through an all-Canada division.
Commissioner Gary Bettman has been talking about the possibility of the period beginning in January since his condition of the league press conference during the Stanley Cup Final.
