Photo: NHLPA

The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) have reached a tentative agreement on a Return to Play Plan and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that adds an additional four years to the term of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (through 2025-26) and includes transition rules and a new critical dates calendar.

As part of the tentative agreement, the following dates have been established:

• July 13 – Start of formal training camps
• July 26 – Clubs travel to hub cities
• August 1 – Start of Qualifying Round

The tentative agreement is now subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors, as well as the NHLPA’s Executive Board followed by the full NHLPA membership. The respective review and approval processes will take place over the next few days and there will be no further comment until those processes are completed.

The second phase of the NHL Draft Lottery will be August 10. A play-in team (who will lose the qualifying round) won the first overall pick in the draft, which is expected to be forward Alexis Lafreniere.

A schedule for the qualifying round and round-robin tournaments will be determined at a later time. Edmonton (Western Conference) and Toronto (Eastern Conference) are expected to be named the two hub cities for the tournament with Edmonton hosting the Conference Finals and 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

To see the phase three protocols, click here. For the phase four ones, click here.

For more information, please visit the following links:

Additional Notes From The ‘Return To Play’ Plan
Report: NHL, Players’ Association Finalize “Tentative Agreement” On Phases 3 & 4 Protocols But Still Working On CBA Extension

By Harrison Brown