The return of the 2019-20 NHL season is right around the corner, and the league finally has confirmed dates for the Montreal Canadiens to look forward to.
July hit and waves of information regarding the NHL and its Return to Play Plan hit the waves. Before, it was only rumblings and optimistic gestures to talk about, and now we have confirmed dates for the Montreal Canadiens to prepare for.
This all comes from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who doesn’t look as if he’s close to retirement at all with the amount of information he’s been sharing with the hockey world. Wednesday saw a number of dates put out on Insider Trading. Most of these have already been shared via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman right after the chaos that was the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery.
For starters, the updated date for the opening of training camp – Phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan – is now July 13th. It was initially believed that it would be the 10th, but Friedman hinted on the date being pushed back with the NHL and NHLPA taking more time to vote on hub cities and decide on the new CBA.
The 13th seems to be the spot now as it’s all but confirmed that Toronto and Edmonton would be the hub cities for the restart of the 2019-20 season. Additionally, the latter of the two cities is going to be the one to host the Stanley Cup Final.
With Edmonton and Toronto being chosen as the two NHL Hub cities, the question most often asked now is, which of the two will play host to the Stanley Cup final and Conference finals?
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 2, 2020
The answer, apparently, is Edmonton.
So whether the Oilers make it all the way or not, the Rogers Arena is going to see the Stanley Cup be wheeled onto the ice.
Training camp will then last two weeks, with teams having to report to their respective hub city by July 26th. Eastern Conference teams will go to Toronto while Western Conference teams go to Edmonton. The last time the Montreal Canadiens were at Scotiabank Arena, they got a big 6-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the shootout, whereas Ilya Kovalchuk got the final dagger against them in February. And if rekindling those feelings helps the Habs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, then take in all you can (non-tank take).