NHL, NHLPA formally agree to resume playing; Penguins to face Canadiens beginning Aug. 1
Hockey is back.
After months of discussions and planning, the NHL and the NHLPA have formally agreed to resume play this summer.
And Penguins fans finally have a date to circle on their calendars: Aug 1, which is when the team’s best-of-five qualifying round series against the Montreal Canadiens is set to begin.
The plan to resume playing with a 24-team tournament in two venues — Toronto and Edmonton — was agreed to by the league’s board of governors and approved by a vote among players association members. The agreement was announced Friday evening.
Additionally, the parties agreed to a four-year extension of the current collective bargaining agreement, which will run through the 2025-26.
The agreement clears the way for teams to open training camps Monday to resume the 2019-20 season, which has been on hold since the NHL paused March 12 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Monday is also the deadline for players to opt out of the tournament with no penalty.
Following three days of exhibition games July 28-30, the season is scheduled to resume Aug. 1 with a flurry of 52 games in nine days — five or six a day — before an Aug. 10 break.
The Penguins, who have not played since a 5-2 road win against the New Jersey Devils on March 10, will begin practicing in Cranberry on Monday before facing the Canadiens in Toronto less than three weeks later. As the fifth seed, the Penguins will serve as the “home” team in Games 1, 2 and 5 (if necessary) in the series.
If a Game 4 is required, it will be played on Aug. 7, Sidney Crosby’s 33rd birthday.
Game times are yet to be determined.
After the qualifying round, the first round of the playoff is tentatively scheduled to begin Aug. 11. Other tentative dates include the start of the second round Aug. 25, the conference finals Sept. 8 and the Stanley Cup Final on Sept. 22. The last possible day of the final series is Oct. 4.
The final two rounds will be played in Edmonton. The draft is set to follow on Oct. 9-10.
Penguins-Canadiens schedule
Aug. 1 — Canadiens at Penguins
Aug. 3 — Canadiens at Penguins
Aug. 5 — Penguins at Canadiens
Aug. 7 — Penguins at Canadiens (if necessary)
Aug. 8 — Canadiens at Penguins (if necessary)
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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