As the NHL tries to work its way towards resuming play, they have come to an agreement on when training camps will begin. The league announced that those camps will begin on Friday, July 10th after reaching an agreement with the NHLPA. The full release is as follows:
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced today that formal training camps (Phase 3) for the 24 teams resuming play will open on Friday, July 10, provided that medical and safety conditions allow and the parties have reached an overall agreement on resuming play. The length of training camp and, therefore, the start date for formal resumption of play (Phase 4) will be determined at a future date.
Recently, teams were allowed to open their practice facilities although not all of them have taken advantage of that so far. Some are in the process of getting their rinks compliant with new safety protocols while others have encouraged their players to remain where they are outside of the club city as long as they’re able to skate and work out.
While no set date for the resumption of play (the play-in round to the playoffs plus the round robin for the top four teams in each conference) has been set, it’s likely that a few weeks will be needed in order to get players back into playing shape, lines and strategies set, and perhaps even an exhibition game or two to work off the rust. With that in mind, today’s news suggests that play will resume in early August if agreements can be reached with the NHLPA on all of the return protocols and that it is medically safe to do so.
still no timeframe for actual play returning…we’re gonna be waiting quite a bit it seems.
Phase 3, aka “Hurry Up and Wait!”, now coming to a barn, not near you. Training camps might need to be three weeks, just because of goalies maybe not being able to practice/condition in full gear during the down time. If all goes well, the Covid Cup might actually be hoisted in mid-late October, if we’re lucky, with next season *maybe* starting in mid-late December. (These are just guesses on my part, the situation is still fluid…) Good thing there are still a mess of games from this season to listen to on interweb radio.
cmon dont diss the Cup by calling it the Covid Cup, brother. I know where youre coming from but its disrespectful if you truly love hockey.
@itsmeheyhi – I go back to the Original Six days & Black and White TV. Bettman’s the one dissing the integrity of the game. BTW, other people have been using “Covid Cup” for a few weeks now, so I can’t lay claim to the moniker, just one of many using it. I don’t use it very often, though, unlike some. Whether you like it or not, countless thousands of fans like me don’t and won’t view the finality of this season with joy, more like disdain or, for some, maybe even disgust. I’m in the disdain camp, even though you may view it as disgust, I’m not there and won’t be there. And, trust me, listening to other people’s views in other markets, my takes on this are comparatively bland. Really. Some folks are just plain hot about the whole mess. I’m just frustrated and a little PO’d. I won’t EVER disown The Coolest Game On Earth, but I’m afraid some fans might over this.
Does anyone else think they should have just canceled and moved to 20-21?
No.
No. Finish this season then worry about next year
No
I say this nicely… hell no.
You are all desperate for hockey. I get it.
Me too.
Should have packed it in and renegotiated a deal with sponsors and networks for next year. Smaller pie but it would have made you really care about the sport and players,health and community. Instead it’s let’s hurry back and get our money.