TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie has gotten his hands on a potential restart plan circling among NHL players and published details of it in French. The plan would feature the top 12 teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences competing in Divisional round-robin tournaments before moving onto a normal postseason.
While questions remain about how safely the NHL will be able to conduct any type of return and if players will ultimately sign off on it, the NHL is continuing to hold meetings with players, and reports suggest a possible announcement could be coming soon.
According to Lavoie, the 24 teams that would return play would be based on winning percentage. The following teams would make the 2020 Playoffs.
Metropolitan Division
Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Carolina, Islanders, and Columbus
Atlantic Division
Boston, Tampa Bay, Florida, Toronto, Rangers, and Montreal
Central Division
St Louis, Colorado, Nashville, Dallas, Winnipeg, and Chicago
Pacific Division
Vegas, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Arizona, and Minnesota
Buffalo, New Jersey, Ottawa, and Detroit in the Eastern Conference and Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose of the Western Conference would see its seasons end.
The teams 24 teams that would return would then play in a five-game, nine-day divisional round-robin where each team would play each other once.
When the group stage is completed, the top two teams in the standings would get a bye. Lavoie reports that how a team performed in the regular season would be factored in. The four other teams (3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5) would play a best-of-three series to move on. After that, a normal playoff would be conducted where each team would play in a best-of-seven format.
Other details Lavoie revealed include
- Four NHL cities would be picked to host each division’s games, but no teams would be forced to play in a host city in its division. For instance, if Pittsburgh was picked as a hub, it would not host the Metropolitan Division.
- Training camps would be held in each home city’s area (unless local laws prevent them from doing so) and would last for three weeks. Teams who are forbidden to train in their home location would find another location to work out.
- All teams would be allowed to have expanded rosters consisting of 30 players (7 Black Aces).
- A city will be chosen to host the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final
Lavoie reports that while this plan is detailed and circulating among players, it’s not “set in stone.”
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
