Deal getting close to being complete … Tentative dates for the rest of the season
TSN: The NHL and NHLPA continue to work on Return to Play and a CBA extension. Once agreed up the players will put it to a vote, which could take two or three days.
Bob McKenzie says that though not a 100 per cent, Edmonton is expected to host the Stanley Cup Final.
Things are fluid and can always change, but tentative dates look like.
- “July 13: Beginning of Phase 3. That’s when they’d want the players to report to camp.
- July 26 or thereabouts: The teams would leave their home cities and go to the two hubs, Toronto and Edmonton for the beginning of Phase 4 on August 1.
- Aug. 1: Keep in mind, the first part of Phase 4 is the preliminary or qualifier. Best-of-five series.
- Aug. 10: Remember, the losers of that series go into the (Phase 2) Draft Lottery. On or around August 10 or 11, thereabouts. We could get the Draft Lottery and determine the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
- Early October: Then you have the Stanley Cup being presented. Again, it’s target date. That’s what they would like to have happen.
- Mid-October: The NHL Draft would have to happen quickly after the Stanley Cup is being presented.
- Nov. 1: And right now, Nov. 1 would be the first day of the business year for the 2020-21 season. And that would be free agent frenzy day. The day after Halloween, Gino. If everything stays to plan.”
Toronto Mayor on Toronto likely being a Hub city
Sportsnet: Toronto Mayor John Tory at a COVID press conference talked about Toronto likely being a Hub city. The NHL had “incredibly detailed disinfection and health protection measures” covering as many angle as they could for their bubble.
“The other kinds of questions that came were how do you define the bubble?” Tory said. “Because there were concerns that were understood completely when you bring a number of teams and a number of these players in, and say when they’re not playing they’re going to be in a given hotel, what if they want to go outside for a walk or just have some fresh air?
“There had to be considerations of that kind of thing that we really just had to answer questions as to what we could do to help facilitate that. … We gave answers to those questions and gave them always with the thought in mind that what we wanted to do was try to make sure we put our best put forward to try and be named a hub city _ results to be determined _ but at the same time did not adversely impact on the interests of the general public who we are here to serve and who themselves need access to fresh air and open spaces and other things.”