NHL Announces Important Dates

     The National Hockey League Board of Governors and the National Hockey League Players Association agreed to a four-year extension to the collective bargaining agreement through the 2025-26 season and a return to play plan on Friday. The NHL then rolled out important dates on the league schedule for later on this year. 

     Training camps for 24 NHL teams will begin on July 13 and clubs will travel to the hub cities of Toronto or Edmonton on July 26. Exhibition games would occur between July 28 and July 30. The Stanley Cup qualifier series and round-robin contests begin on August 1 and go until August 9.

     Phase 2 of the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery happens on August 10 for which one of Stanley Cup Qualifier losing teams will get the first overall selections of the 2020 NHL Draft. The conference quarterfinals are slated for August 11 and the conference semifinals are expected to begin on August 25. 

     The final two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be held in Edmonton with tentative dates set. The conference finals gets started on September 8. The Stanley Cup Final will begin on September 22 and the last possible date for that series is on October 4. 

     The 2020 NHL Draft will occur on October 9 and October 10 with all seven rounds to be held online. It was to place at Bell Centre in Montreal on June 26 and June 27, however the coronavirus pandemic moved that situation back. The free agency period would begin several days after the draft has been completed.