Montreal Canadiens will play in Toronto vs Pittsburgh, Players will vote on CBA, NHL RTP
By Elias Laradi
A tentative schedule was released yesterday and the NHLPA approved the NHL proposal for a CBA which means it’s time to vote.
With training camp beginning next Monday in Brossard we had a couple of news items released yesterday so let’s break it down. We now know Toronto will host the Eastern Conference, It hasn’t been officially announced but most likely it will. With that being said we now have a schedule-timeline for how the NHL will schedule its games.
It was announced once again by TSN insider Bob Mckenzie that there would be six games a day with three in each hub city. The first game of the day would start at noon eastern and games would be scheduled to begin every two hours following that opening game.. Keep in mind Edmonton is two hours behind in the Mountain time zone. There was a big question asked of what happens since it’s playoff hockey if one game goes to overtime.
Mckenzie revealed that it could be like US Open tennis meaning if a game goes to OT or even multiple OT’s, teams will have to sit and wait till the game is done. We could potentially have games played starting even at midnight. He also discussed what could potentially happen to players like Max Domi and Kappo Kakko who are type 1 diabetic.
Return to Play Schedule Taking Shape
He said ultimately it’s up to the team doctors and the NHL infectious disease specialist that they hired to oversee the process of testing. We will find out very soon if Domi will be able to play or not when he arrives in town for phase 3 and before players can hit the ice they will have to go through a pre-phase 3 health evaluation.
In other news, late Tuesday night was announced that the NHLPA executive board had approved the NHL proposal for the CBA extension and now we will go to a full player vote. The vote should happen on Thursday and expect the results by Friday. This vote essentially is the big vote everyone was talking about which includes Phase 3, 4 of the NHL return to play as well the CBA extension.
Expect the vote to pass and then it will need to go through a ratification process and then everything will be official for an announcement. It took five months of solid work but we really have to give props to the NHL and NHLPA for getting this done. They worked day and night trying to revive a sport that went through massive losses due to the pandemic and I know a lot of hockey fans will be happy to tune in as of August 1st to watch their team in action.
There you go, you’re all caught up and we will continue to keep you updated every morning and with training camp next week we will have daily lines and stories from the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.
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The expectations seem to rise each passing day for the Habs defensive prospect. Let’s slow it down and not expect a 20 year old to step right in from the KHL and be a cornerstone of the franchise.
Shea Weber Potential Cap Recapture Penalty Changed
The Canadiens were off the hook when it came to potential cap recapture penalties regarding their captain. However, the rules have been amended to not be so onerous on his previous team, which makes it slightly more possible that he will retire and wipe out his cap hit before the end of his deal.