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Big news!
As per the NHL Public Relations official Twitter account:
NHLPA, NHL Reach Tentative Agreement on Return to Play Plan, CBA Extension; Set Dates for Resumption of Play https://t.co/QKnu4L2jWV pic.twitter.com/6ClJWYhQwH
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) July 6, 2020
In case you can’t be assed, here are the key dates from the tweet:
- July 13: Start of formal training camps
- July 26: Clubs travel to Hub cities
- August 1: Start of Qualifying Round
Of course, this remains a fluid situation as far as I can tell, so don’t be surprised if one or all of these dates get pushed or cancelled. The league is clearly trying, and that’s commendable to a point, but a lot can change between now and then.
The more interesting piece of this news is that the NHL and NHLPA have managed to avoid a looming labor stoppage by extending the current CBA — set to expire September 15, 2020 — by another four years.
There are surely some changes to the existing document that I don’t have my head quite wrapped around yet (think escrow), but Pierre LeBrun has reported that the CBA extension does include language that will allow NHL players to participate in the next two Winter Olympics. Given that the most recent — and awesome — World Cup of Hockey looks to be another one-and-done situation, it bodes well for fans of best-on-best tournaments that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be able to ply their trade on the Olympic stage in the coming years.
As we reported last week, Olympic participation by NHL players for both upcoming Winter Olympics, subject to a successful negotiation with the IOC and IIHF, is part of the tentative CBA agreement.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 6, 2020
Big day!