On May 22, 2020, the NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) agreed to a framework for the resumption of play, which would see the remainder of the regular season scrapped, and the top 12 teams in each conference (by points percentage) competing in a modified and expanded Stanley Cup playoffs, which the NHL planned to hold in two centralized "hub cities", Toronto's Scotiabank Arena and Edmonton's Rogers Place, with no spectators and only essential staff present.
[2] The collective bargaining agreement (CBA), previously signed to end the 2012–13 NHL lockout, entered into its eighth season.
[23] Carolina Hurricanes play-by-play announcer John Forslund was replaced by rinkside reporter Mike Maniscalco prior to the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Forslund had been the television voice of the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise since 1995, and added radio play-by-play in 2018 after the team removed Chuck Kaiton from the position.
[29] The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers played their regular season opening game on October 4, 2019, at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
[75] The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning played two games at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 8 and 9, 2019.
In early March 2020, the NHL suspended media access to the locker rooms, saying that only official personnel would be allowed in after the games to limit person-to-person contact.
[93] Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets had also proposed to play home games without fans, due to Ohio governor Mike DeWine banning mass gatherings in the state.
[94] But after the National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended all games when Rudy Gobert and another player tested positive for COVID-19 on the day that the World Health Organization declared the disease to be a pandemic, the NHL scheduled a meeting to discuss pausing the season.
Many of the logistics still needed to be negotiated, including COVID-19 testing protocols, visas, and whether these games would be held in one or more "hub" cities as the Canada–United States border would remain closed to non-essential travel until June 21.
[107][108] On May 26, Bettman formally discussed aspects of the "Return to Play Plan", including the proposed 24-team playoff format (with the top four teams in each conference playing a round robin tournament under regular season overtime rules to determine their seeds), and modifications to the procedures for the Draft Lottery.
Bettman stated that at least two hub cities would be used for the playoffs, shortlisting hosts such as Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver.
[110] As Canada's Quarantine Act at the time required all travellers entering the country to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated that this may impact the ability to use Canadian host cities unless these issues can be addressed.
[97] On June 10, British Columbia Premier John Horgan stated that the province's medical officer Bonnie Henry had endorsed proposed protocols developed by the Vancouver Canucks in collaboration with local officials, and that they were being sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for federal approval.
If a player tests positive, they could not attend training until they had been cleared, with teams suggested to use guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[97] Amidst an intense growth of new cases in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning temporarily closed their training facility on June 19 after several staff members and three players tested positive for COVID-19.
The next day, Global BC's Richard Zussman reported that the NHL had "moved on [for now]" from Vancouver, and was increasing its focus on Edmonton and Toronto as potential sites.
[115] While Las Vegas was initially considered a front-runner, a spike of cases in Nevada and other U.S. states led to reports on July 1 that the NHL had decided on Edmonton and Toronto as the sites.
The Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl are presented at the end of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals respectively.
[173][174] Both NBC Sports and Sportsnet celebrated International Women's Day on March 8, 2020, by featuring all-female broadcasting crews on their respective telecasts of St. Louis Blues–Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights–Calgary Flames.
[177] Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios combined to purchase the former Fox Sports regional networks (FSN).
Twelve of the NHL's 31 teams (Anaheim, Arizona, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay) carry their television broadcasts through FSN.
[178] The FSN networks continued to temporarily use the Fox Sports name under a transitional license agreement while Sinclair explores rebranding options.