Los Angeles (AFP)
The North American Ice Hockey League (NHL) steering committee and players' representatives signed an agreement Friday to resume the season interrupted on March 12 by the coronavirus pandemic on August 1.
The agreement will also allow NHL stars to compete in the Beijing 2022 and Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026, subject to approval by the International Hockey Federation. The stars of the most followed hockey league in the world had not been released for the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018.
The end-of-season training camps will reopen on Monday and the 24 teams will travel on July 26 to the two Canadian cities chosen to host the matches: Toronto for the Eastern Conference and Edmonton, which is also expected to host the Stanley Cup in October, for the Western Conference.
The top four teams from each conference will qualify for the seeded play-offs and those ranked 5th through 12th will compete in the best of five games to determine the top four seeders round of final stages.
"Today, the NHL and NHLPA announced a significant agreement to lift the uncertainty everyone faces, establish a framework to end the 2019-20 season and the basics of the game. 'Long term growth for our league,' said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who promises that 'health and safety will continue to be our top priorities'.
NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr said "a significant step forward for the players, the owners and our game in these difficult and uncertain times".
Players have three days to notify their teams in writing if they do not wish to compete at the end of the season.
Each team will have the right to bring 52 people, including a maximum of 31 players, into its "safety zone". Each of them will have to undergo a Covid test every day.
The NHL has so far reported 35 positive Covid-19 players out of a total of around 3,000 tests.
© 2020 AFP