NHL, NHLPA Reach Tentative Agreement On Return To Play, CBA Extension

The NHL and NHLPA have reached a tentative agreement on the league’s Return To Play plan, as well as a CBA extension and have set dates for training camps and the qualifying rounds.

An official statement was released Monday, noting both sides came to terms on a deal that “adds an additional four years to the term of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and includes transition rules and a new critical dates calendar.”

The NHL’s Board of Governors and the NHLPA’s Executive Board now much approve the plan.

The release also offered some dates for the start of training camps, when teams will travel to the hub cities and the start of the qualifying rounds.

July 13 — start of training camps
July 26 — clubs travel to hub cities
Aug. 1 — start of qualifying round

The 2019-20 season was paused back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the regular season officially was deemed finished in May.

The Boston Bruins will not play in the qualifying round but will play in the round-robin tournament to determine their seeding, despite being the league’s best team.

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