NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will make an announcement later on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET regarding the NHL’s Return to Play format, the league said Tuesday afternoon in a news release. Media availability will be held at 6 p.m. ET.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun tweets that a Return to Play announcement is only the first step in a series of things that need to go right for the NHL to resume its 2019-20 season.
“So many hurdles to overcome, more negotiations needed between NHL/NHLPA over hub cities, testing, protocols… the format is just step one,” he tweeted.
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
NHL GMs will get the details of the NHL RTP format on a 3 p.m. ET conference call with the league.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 26, 2020
TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie reports that NHL general managers will get the details of the league’s Return to Play format on a conference call Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET.
The National Hockey League Players’ Association Executive Board gave the green light on a 24-team Return to Play proposal last week. An official announcement was originally expected to be made in the coming days.
The league released a memo Monday announcing it is targeting early June as the start date of Phase 2 of its Return to Play plan, including the opening of practice rinks for small, voluntary group workouts on and off the ice.
If the Phase 2 plan gets the green light, on-ice sessions will be non-contact and involve up to six players, who will be expected to maintain physical distancing at all times. Coaches will allowed to watch but not participate in skates or workouts.
The NHL paused its regular season on March 12, one day after the NBA halted their season once Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz was revealed to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
