NHL commissioner Gary Bettman responds to question during a news conference before Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena Monday, May 28, 2018.
Published Tuesday, May 26, 2020 | 10:18 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, May 26, 2020 | 4:11 p.m.
The NHL has a formal plan for what hockey will look like if and when it returns. It involves the Golden Knights as division champions, a chance to be the top seed and a chance for Las Vegas to host games.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced today the league’s plan for returning to play, which includes the decision that the 2019-20 regular season is over, that two cities will host playoff games and that the top four teams in each conference will play each other in meaningful games.
The season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bettman did not announce a date for the return of games but said formal training camps will not begin before July 1. He said it’s conceivable games could start as soon as late July.
"Our players and our teams are clear that they want to play and bring the season to its rightful conclusion," Bettman said. "At this time, we are not fixing dates because the schedule of our return to play will be determined both by developing circumstances and the needs of the players."
Because the season is over, the Golden Knights will enter the record books as 2019-20 Pacific Division champions, their second title in three years as a franchise.
The biggest on-ice news for Vegas is that while seeds Nos. 5-12 will compete in a play-in series, the top four seeds in each conference will receive a bye, including the Golden Knights. But they’ll still be playing important games.
The Golden Knights will play the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars in a round robin during the play-in series to determine seeding for the Round of 16. The Golden Knights are currently the No. 3 seed but could move up or down depending on how the round robin goes.
The round robin will be played under regular season standings rules, with two points for a win and one point for an overtime or shootout loss. Whichever team has the most points will be the top seed, with ties broken by regular season points percentage.
Vegas went 3-4 against those three teams this year, with no wins in regulation and a minus-10 goal differential.
The play-in series will be best-of-five, and the conference championships and Stanley Cup Final will be best-of-seven. It is still unknown how long the Round of 16 or Round of 8 series will be.
The two conferences will all be sequestered in hub cities. The league is considering 10 cities to host the playoffs, and Bettman confirmed Las Vegas is one of them. As of now, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has not yet approved the return of live sports to the state.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league wants to eliminate the perception of home-ice advantage. It’s possible if a city with a playoff team is chosen, that team will be sent to the opposite hub.
For example, if Las Vegas and Pittsburgh are selected as hubs, the league could opt to have the Eastern Conference teams in Las Vegas and the Western Conference teams in Toronto so the Golden Knights and Penguins are not playing at home.
"We certainly see some merit to moving the club to a different market," Daly said.
Added Bettman: "If a team happens to be its own market, the players I don't think should be planning on going home. They'll be staying in the same conditions as everybody else is."
The issue of coronavirus testing is another concern. Under guidelines provided Monday, when teams return to their facilities, they will be responsible for testing players and bearing the costs of those tests. In that stage, players will be tested two days before they enter and twice a week after that.
Once teams reach their postseason hubs, the league will take over testing. Players will be tested every night with the hopes of having results by the morning.
A positive test would not automatically force the league to restart again, Daly said, though an outbreak would.
The thought process of NHL medical advisors is that "one single positive test, depending on the circumstance, should not necessarily shut the whole operation down," Daly said. "Obviously we can't be in the situation where we have an outbreak, and that will affect our ability to continue playing."
The NHL said it expects expanded rosters. But the Golden Knights’ roster won't include its latest signee. Vegas agreed to terms with draftee Jack Dugan this month but did not specify which year the contract will begin.
Under normal circumstances, Dugan would have been eligible to sign an entry-level contract and play in the postseason — it’s what Colorado’s Cale Makar did last season — but Daly said teams are not permitted to add new players.
