NHL set to open training camps for season restart on July 10
The NHL has given a timeline for a season restart by announcing a return date for training camps.
Nearly three months to the day after shutting down the 2019-20 NHL season, the NHL has for given a date for training camps to return, inching hockey ever closer to a return in the near future.
The NHL and the NHLPA announced Thursday that formal training camps for all 24 teams that are included in the NHL’s return to play format are set to open on July 10. However this does not mean an NHL return is 100 percent official and ready to go. The return date would still need to have medical and safety conditions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic safe enough to allow it, and for an agreement between both parties to be reached on resuming play.
NHL sets training camps for return to play on July 10
According to the release from the league, the length of training camp and the start date of an official resumption of play is still to be determined at a future date. Both sides are still in negotiation on just about everything regarding Phase 4, which is the formal resumption of play, but some speculation puts the season resumption for early August.
One of the main aspects of a return to still be worked out is the matter of hub cities. These hub cities would have to be able to hold 12 teams each in a bubble for would likely be about three months should a team advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. While there has no official announcements, there are ten cities currently under consideration.
The league began “Phase 2” of their return to play plan earlier in the week, where team training centers were opened for voluntary workouts for small groups of players in groups of no more than six players on the ice at a time. While a limited number of staff is allowed in the facility with them, coaches are not allowed on the ice with players yet.
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