The Ditch part deux

All fair dline.
Panthers a team that looked like it was going to be watching the playoffs so now that you’re in I’d assume it’s all gravy from here. Maybe Bob finds his game and is lights out.
I’m assuming that there will be upsets and some fan bases will be upset but it’s the same situation for everyone and the same game they’re all accustomed to. Best team wins let’s get at it.

 

I’d think the older players will have a harder time adjusting to this new situation. Cough, cough **Bruins**. Who knows though maybe all those old knees and elbows will be fresh and ready.

 

Welcome back, Matty!

Drop the puck!

 

With a handful of games to go, they were one game out. But I didn't believe they had the team to make any noise, even if they made it in. The cynic in me says that now I just get to confirm that. The fan in me, though, agrees with you - this is all bonus hockey, now! Like watching overtime at a game you paid for - free hockey!

I'm interested to see how this proposal works out for the top 4 teams in each conference. As a fan of one of those teams, how do you feel about it? Other than the excitement that they're back, obviously.

 

Well at least the Bruins only play warm up for 3 games instead of really worrying about elimination. Home Ice doesn't matter. Now the Stars are lucky. They were in a huge slump and held on to 4th in the west. They were about to play Florida and I don't think they would have won that game. That would have bumped them down the standings.

 

I’m really just happy they’re back. As Joe mentioned, there’s no real home ice advantage anyway.
Does anyone know if this is supposed to kick off before the draft?

 

The lottery will be before they are back and the order 1-15 will be decided after the first round. As for the rest I do not believe they have placed a date yet.

 

Concerns about Canadian coronavirus restrictions could push hockey south of the 49th parallel into the U.S. this summer.

Seven of the 10 locations the NHL has zeroed in on to hold playoff games if it resumes are American cities not restricted by Canada’s 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival. As 24 teams figure out how to squeeze an expanded roster and limited personnel into one of two ”hub” cities, the Vancouver Canucks are even considering relocating training camp to the U.S. if the situation doesn’t change in the coming weeks.

”It’s something that we’re thinking about, but also too we just want to give it a few more days just to see if something is going to change,” Vancouver general manager Jim Benning said Wednesday. ”The perfect scenario we’d like to use our facilities. We’re probably going to have 30, 32 guys here and we have great facilities for our players, so we would like to do that first and foremost. But we’ve talked about moving it off site.”

The Canucks are in the same boat as the NHL, which is in no rush to choose among the 10 finalists: Las Vegas, Columbus, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton. It will in the next few weeks select two or three to host Eastern and Western Conference brackets and then the Stanley Cup Final by factoring in government regulations, the frequency of COVID-19 in the community and availability of testing.

”We want to just be in a position to, in real time, have lots of options once we understand what the state of play is at the time we need to make the decision,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. ”We could pick one or two locations, but that might, if we made the decision today, not turn out to be as good a decision as one that we make three, four weeks from now because things are continuing to evolve in all of the places that we play.”

The league told GMs on Tuesday to plan for a roster of 28 skaters and unlimited goaltenders for training camps that won’t begin before early July and games without fans several weeks later. Each team will have a personnel cap of 50 in the city where games are played, though the Montreal Canadiens could be without one of their top players.

Montreal GM Marc Bergevin said forward Max Domi, who is high risk because he has Type 1 diabetes, will not play if doctors deem it to be unsafe.

Before the NHL commits to where games could be held, officials are planning for multiple scenarios. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly is engaged in regular dialogue with the U.S. and Canadian governments and medical experts to determine what the health and safety landscape might look like this summer.

”That doesn’t mean we get to look for any type of exception or any type of favoritism,” said Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares, who’s on the Return to Play committee. ”I think we just want to continue to follow the guidelines that are set out for us and do the best that we can. Hopefully things improve to a point where those things could be possibly loosened up, not just for us but for all of society.”

Because testing is lagging in Ontario and British Columbia’s government isn’t expected to make exceptions for the NHL, Edmonton could be Canada’s best hope. Oilers GM Ken Holland said with an attached practice rink and hotel and nearby restaurants, ”Edmonton checks off in my opinion all the boxes.”

Except that Daly said Canada’s 14-day quarantine would be a nonstarter. The NHL is already facing what Winnipeg forward Andrew Copp called a ”time crunch” to fit in effectively five rounds of playoffs, and if the focus shifts solely on U.S. locations, Las Vegas and Columbus appear to be the front-runners.

Beyond the abundance of hotels and sparkling new rink the Las Vegas Strip can offer, the arena district in Columbus could serve as an effective bubble for the NHL.

”Whether it’s from the building or the facilities surrounding the building to accommodate hotel rooms, meals — whatever it needs to be, we’ve covered it,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said. ”Also the state of Ohio is in pretty good shape as far as flattening the curve and providing a safe environment that way. The transportation is easy if needed between facilities in Columbus, and we have a lot of rink facilities that we can use for the amount of teams that would be in the tournament.”

There wouldn’t be much of a home-ice advantage without fans, and the league is considering moving the ”home” team to the other city. But that isn’t stopping NHL executives from pitching the ability to host playoff games.

”We have a state of the art facility in Cranberry, the Lemieux Center, and the medical center attached and we have plenty of hotels and everything like that,” Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said. ”We meet the criteria but we understand there’s other cities that do, also.”

The two biggest surprises on the NHL’s list were Chicago and Los Angeles. The Blackhawks and Kings each said they were honored to be considered.

But not being a coronavirus hotspot and having a surplus of testing are key elements to the decision. Bettman said the league won’t interfere with an area’s medical needs or take up tests from the general public, and those in hockey hoping to land games know that.

”None of us would agree to a situation where we are taking away testing from people that need it,” Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said. ”Several weeks from now, we would really have to be in a position where the health care community and the government community of whatever country we’re in, whatever city we’re in are in agreement that this can be done and it can be done in a respectful, conscientious way.”

NBC

 

Sorry for long article, but thats the latest, fresh off the press, update on whats going on.

 

Gonna be some garbage ice this summer id think. and these teams are all using the same sheet or two over and over. just a single practice can tear up the ice in normal conditions, let alone summer temps. should help the dump n chasers.

 

I can see why they are considering Edmonton. It's the most northern city. In the summer it isn't really that much cooler than other places though. Vancouver is actually cooler if I'm not mistaken. Then again they have a new rink.

 

I've been a proponent of just cancelling and moving on. I won't be upset if we get hockey, of course. I'm just thoroughly nervous about the execution of it all.


Well said DLine..........I feel the same way.

And I'm not been negative Will........

I'm cautious. Of course I'd love to see hockey come back, but I just see so many potential pitfalls.

DLine brings up the same feeling I have...........The Pitfalls........Logistics is a Nightmare to pull this off.

If the NHL can do this for the "Cup"..........Kudos........but I don't think it's going to happen ???

 

Vancouver is actually cooler if I'm not mistaken.


No Joe..............Vancouver is a lot milder than Edmonton over the course of average year Celsius.

If the Stanley Cup playoff's happen.........I'm going to say Vancouver and Edmonton will NOT be Hub Cities.

Bettman will choose two american cities........Maybe Las Vegas and Chicago ???

 

I mean in the Summer. If I'm not mistaken Edmonton is actually a bit milder in the summer on average.

And I do think it will be two American cities. Canada has more restrictions plus if tax dollars are going somewhere we know his preference.

 

And I do think it will be two American cities. Canada has more restrictions plus if tax dollars are going somewhere we know his preference.


I agree Joe.........Vegas HAS too be ONE of the Cities.........just look at ALL the Hotel Rooms and their empty......lol

 

All series in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be best-of-7, and will be set based on seeding, the NHL announced Thursday.

When the NHL on May 26 announced its Return to Play Plan, which involves 24 teams in competition for the Stanley Cup, it said the length of the first-round and second-round series would be determined.

"Everybody is used to a best-of-7," Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang told The Associated Press. "You know how it's structured. You know how it feels if you lose the first two or you win the first two. You kind of know all the scenarios that can go through a best-of-7."

The tournament will begin with a 16-team, eight-series Qualifying Round (best-of-5) and a Seeding Round Robin among the top four teams in each conference to determine seeds for the playoffs.

In each round of the playoffs, the highest remaining seed in each conference will play the lowest remaining seed in that conference, the second-highest remaining seed will play the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. It will not be predetermined by a set bracket, the format that had been used since 2013-14.

Ties during the round-robin will be broken by regular-season points percentage. The seeding order for these top four teams will remain the same throughout the playoffs.

In the qualifying round, the higher-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 1, 2 and 5. The lower-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 3 and 4.

During the first round, second round and conference finals, the higher-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. The lower-seeded team will be designated as the home team in Games 3, 4 and 6.

In the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the higher regular-season points percentage will be designated as the home team in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. The team with the lower regular-season points percentage will be designated as the home team in Games 3, 4 and 6.

"Any team that is going to win five rounds, four rounds of best-of-7 ... I think it will be a very worthy Stanley Cup champion and they'll be as worthy as any team or players that won it before them," Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said.

The NHL paused the regular season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus and said the remaining 189 games would not be completed. The 12 qualifying teams from the Eastern and Western conferences were determined by points percentage as of that date. Seven teams did not qualify.

The qualifying round and round-robin will be held at two hub cities to be identified, one for the 12 participating Eastern Conference teams and one for the 12 Western Conference teams, and begin at a date to be determined.

In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers each will have a bye and play each other once in the round-robin to determine the order of the top four seeds for the first round of the playoffs.

The four Eastern Conference Qualifying Round series will be the Penguins against the Montreal Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes against the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders against the Florida Panthers, and the Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars each will have a bye and play in the round-robin to determine their seeding order.

The four Western Conference Qualifying Round series will be the Edmonton Oilers against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Nashville Predators against the Arizona Coyotes, the Vancouver Canucks against the Minnesota Wild, and the Calgary Flames against the Winnipeg Jets.

NHL.com

 

NHL training camps for Stanley Cup Qualifiers to open July 10
Phase 3 of Return to Play Plan will occur if medical, safety conditions allow

Training camps for the 24 NHL teams resuming play will open July 10, the League and NHL Players' Association announced Thursday.

"Now everybody can plan what they have to do," Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill told the Dallas Morning News. "Now the wheels are in motion."

Phase 3 of the NHL Return to Play Plan will occur provided that medical and safety conditions allow, and the parties have reached an agreement on resuming play. The length of training camp and the start date for resumption of play (Phase 4) will be determined.

"Obviously that's good news for us, having the date of July 10," Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "It's kind of what we've been waiting for. And I think if you ask most players, the hardest part of it all was the uncertainty. ... Now it's just a matter of putting in the time between now and July 10, getting everyone together, and hopefully from there it'll be smooth sailing in terms of what we have to accomplish in order to get playing again. But obviously it's helpful having dates. Having to go that long without any news or hard information in terms of a start time is tough, but we know it now and hopefully we can go in the right direction."

Phase 2, which allows teams to hold limited workouts with small groups at their team facilities, began Monday.

"I think everyone's excited to play hockey again," Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat said. "I know it's been a tough few months for a lot of us, not being able to get on the ice or anything, and to finally get back on the ice the past two days has been really fun for me."

The NHL announced its Return to Play Plan on May 26 with 24 teams in competition for the Stanley Cup. It will begin with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which will include 16 teams playing eight best-of-5 series, and a round-robin among the top four teams in each conference to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The qualifiers will be held at two hub cities to be identified -- one for the 12 participating Eastern Conference teams and one for the 12 Western Conference teams -- and begin at a date to be determined.

The 2019-20 NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and facilities were closed.

"We have a month before the camp starts and we have two weeks before games start, so we have plenty of time to prepare," Arizona Coyotes goalie Adin Hill told The Arizona Republic. "It's going to be weird without those regular-season games leading into the playoffs, but it's going to be those high-intensity, high-energy playoff games off the bat. We're really looking forward to it."

In Phase 2, players can participate on a voluntary basis, and workouts (on-ice and off-ice) are limited to a maximum of six players at any time, plus a limited number of staff.

NHL.com

 

Vegas Golden Knights sign Ryan Reaves to $3.5M, 2-year extension

 

Trudeau says government is ‘open’ to NHL hub city in Canada

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian government is “open” to the NHL operating a playoff “hub city” in Canada as long as it is allowed by local health authorities.

Trudeau said Tuesday the decision will need to be made by the NHL and the provincial and municipal governments where the league wishes to operate.

If the NHL returns to play amid the coronavirus pandemic this ummer, it would start with the playoffs and with 24 teams, preferably split between two hub cities. The league has narrowed down its potential sites to 10 cities, including Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver in Canada.

The NHL has said it will not choose a Canadian city if players are subject to the mandatory, 14-day quarantine currently in effect at the border. Trudeau also said Tuesday that Canada and the United States will continue to limit non-essential travel between the two countries until at least July 21.

The NHL is currently allowing its players to use team facilities to train in small groups. Training camps are cleared to begin July 10.

NBC