NHL releases full ‘return-to-play’ plan, including 24-team playoff

The National Hockey League has released its full plan for the anticipated 24-team postseason format.

Over two months after the NHL was forced to pause its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday there will be no more regular season. Rather, the league will jump straight into an alternate playoff format.

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The exact timetable for when the 24-team playoff will begin is still up in the air, but Bettman laid out how it will work.

Bettman said the decision is not a guarantee that games are coming back. The NHL and the NHL Players' Association must still figure out health and safety protocols and solve other issues, including where to play.

Earlier this week, the league and NHLPA issued extensive protocols once players are allowed to return to their facilities. They include a maximum of six players on the ice at a time, no contact and no coaches for voluntary workouts. Teams at some point would likely hold three-week re-training camps.

According to Bettman, the top four teams in each conference ranked by points percentage -- Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia in the East and St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas in the West -- will play separate round-robin tournaments to determine seeding.

The remaining 16 teams will be seeded by conference, setting up best-of-five series in the East of No. 5 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 Montreal, No. 6 Carolina vs. No. 11 New York Rangers, No. 7 New York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida and No. 8 Toronto vs. No. 9 Columbus. In the West, it would be No. 5 Edmonton vs. No. 12 Chicago, No. 6 Nashville vs. No. 11 Arizona, No. 7 Vancouver vs. No. 10 Minnesota and No. 8 Calgary vs. No. 9 Winnipeg.

Those games are expected to be played without fans in a few locations. The league has not yet determined those sites, though Pittsburgh is among the 10 hub cities under consideration.

Training camps also will not start until at least July 1, which falls under Phase 4 of the return-to-play plan.

The Penguins will play Montreal in the first round, but Bettman said their next opponent will be determined by a round robin involving the top four seeds. Those teams will be playing for seeding positioning.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s office issued a statement regarding Pittsburgh potentially hosting the Eastern Conference playoffs:

“The city supports the NHL getting back to business safely. Our focus is on resuming activities in a way that is safe for fans, players, residents and all personnel.”

The Associated Press contributed information to this report.

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