NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is set to make an announcement to formally introduce plans surrounding the return of the 2019-2020 season. The announcement will take place at 4:30 p.m. EST on NBCSN and NHL Network in the U.S. and Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.
The NHL has been on a hiatus since the second week of March, just three weeks before the end of the regular season. The season would have concluded and the playoffs would have arrived if not for the cancellation of the season due to the global pandemic.
There are some rumors that the NHL will only have certain teams coming back. Bettman’s announcement today will revolve around a 24-team plan. With the NHL consisting of 24 American clubs and seven from Canada, teams north of the border might be excluded from the resumption of the season due to government restrictions and safety precautions.
No matter what, this season will be completely different from seasons in the past. Not every team will be able to finish the season the way they wanted while other teams might be able to make a deeper run in this year’s playoffs due to a possible new format.
From formats to teams involved to new rules, there is a lot up in the air. Everything will be cleared up this afternoon when Bettman goes live with the NHL’s plans.
