NHL approves 24-team playoff, complicated draft lottery

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The NHL’s return-to-play format is officially set. Whether the 24 teams involved get to use it depends on how the next steps unfold. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Tuesday that the NHL’s regular season is officially over and, if and when play resumes, it will be in a 24-team playoff in two hub cities, with dates …

The NHL’s return-to-play format is officially set.

Whether the 24 teams involved get to use it depends on how the next steps unfold.

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Tuesday that the NHL’s regular season is officially over and, if and when play resumes, it will be in a 24-team playoff in two hub cities, with dates and locations still to be determined.

“We will not set dates, choose sites or begin to play until we know it is appropriate and prudent and are approved to do so,” Bettman said during his televised announcement. “As we seek some return to normalcy, this is an important day, particularly for NHL fans. Since March 12 [when the season was paused], we have been hopeful and optimistic that by developing all options and alternatives, we could get to this point.”

Tuesday’s announcement marked another step towards hockey returning this summer, but there are still many more left to take before any puck is dropped in Las Vegas, Edmonton or whatever two hub cities are eventually selected. The league and players association must still work out health and safety protocols and financial details in the face of the coronavirus pandemic that is still plaguing parts of the country.

Monday, the NHL outlined a protocol for players to begin returning to training facilities for voluntary, small-group workouts in “early June,” in what it described as Phase 2. That came a day after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced teams in New York could open their facilities for training camps.

Phase 3 would be opening training camps, which Bettman said would begin no earlier than “the first half of July,” with Phase 4 — the beginning of the tournament — to follow.

“The health and safety of our players and coaches, essential support staff and our communities, are paramount,” Bettman said. “While nothing is without risk, ensuring health and safety has been essential to all of our planning so far and will remain so.”

Under the agreed-upon playoff format, the Rangers would face the Hurricanes and the Islanders would meet the Panthers in the best-of-five play-in series that the league is calling a qualifying round. The top four teams in each conference, meanwhile, would play a round-robin format to determine their seeds. It remains to be determined whether the matchups for the official first round would be bracketed or re-seeded.

The 10 hub cities under consideration are Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Edmonton, Alberta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia.

The seven teams that are not part of the return-to-play format can begin focusing on the NHL draft. The complicated lottery process will include those seven teams, plus the eight teams who lose in the qualifying round.