The NHLPA announced shortly before 10 PM that its 31 player representatives have approved the NHL’s 24-team playoff, return-to-play format.
The NHLPA stressed in its announcement however that more details and negotiations must happen before the NHL can return such as testing, safety protocols, PPE sourcing, and players’ families.
By Ian Oland 3 years ago
The NHL Players’ Association is voting on a return-to-play plan Friday that would begin a process potentially allowing the NHL to restart the 2019-20 season. The NHLPA’s 31 player representatives are voting on the conference-based “play-in” proposal.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston was the first to report the news.
The NHL confirmed the creation of the “Return to Play Committee” and threw cold water on John Scott’s tweet in a release to the public, Wednesday evening. The most noteworthy piece of news is that the NHL believes they may be able to return to some “small group activities in NHL training facilities” in mid to late May.
“The precise date of transition to Phase 2, during which Players might return to small group activities in NHL Club training facilities, remains undetermined,” the NHL wrote. “However, provided that conditions continue to trend favorably – and, subject to potential competitive concerns as between disparately situated markets – we believe we may be able to move to Phase 2 at some point in the mid-to-later portion of May.”
Hey, here’s some good news. The NHLPA has announced that it will not re-open the current CBA after the 2019-20 season ends.
The players’ union had until today, September 16 (the first business day after September 15), to let the NHL know its decision. The CBA will now last until the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
Over the last 27 years, there have been 3 lockouts and 1 strike, causing the NHL to cancel 152 games including an entire dang season in 2004.
According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the NHL must decide by September 1 and the NHLPA must decide by September 15 if they will opt-out of the current CBA for 2020.
In a move that will surprise some and likely enrage fans, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to continue the divisional and wild card playoff format for at least another year. That format holds that the top three teams in each division automatically qualify for a playoff berth, and the next two closest teams in the East and West lock up the wild card spots.
The news was first reported by Pierre LeBrun.
By Julia Karron 4 years ago
Wednesday morning, the NHLPA released the results from their annual Player Poll, which surveys roughly 500 NHL players on everything from how good other players are, to skills, and arenas and fans.
This season, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin received the most love as the player with the best shot at a whopping 50.2 percent of the vote.
Others receiving votes in the category were Shea Weber, Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews, and Steven Stamkos.
By Julia Karron 4 years ago
Friday is International Women’s Day, a day that celebrates the women’s equality movement and has been used as a day not only for celebration, but also protest.
As part of their Hockey Is For Everyone initiative, the NHL and NHLPA have established the NHL & NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee, which will try to grow the game more in North America. This is part of a broader campaign for the first-ever Gender Equality Month, another initiative to celebrate Hockey Is For Everyone throughout the year.
By Julia Karron 4 years ago
The NHL and NHLPA announced in separate releases Wednesday that there will be no World Cup of Hockey in 2020.
Both the league and the players’ union have been meeting — last week in Las Vegas and this week in Toronto — to try and ensure labor peace in 2020 but were unable to come to a quick agreement.
By Ian Oland 4 years ago
Capitals forward Tom Wilson met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York last week to appeal his 20-game suspension. The hearing, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon, lasted a marathon seven hours. After taking nearly a week to review the transcripts, Bettman has finally made a decision.
Wilson’s request to have his 20-game suspension reduced has been denied. Bettman’s decision comes in a 31-page long PDF.
By Cara Bahniuk 4 years ago
