The National Hockey League became the latest professional sports body to finalize a return during the coronavirus pandemic after NHL owners and players approved an agreement Friday to resume the season – and with it an assurance of labor peace through September 2026.
Games are scheduled to begin Aug. 1 in Toronto and Edmonton, with coronavirus cases in the United States pushing the league into Canada for the summer and fall until the Stanley Cup is awarded in late September or early October.
Training camps open across North America on Monday, which is also the deadline for players to opt out of participating with no penalty.
“I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of players saying I don’t want to go,” Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise said. “If one of my teammates says they don’t want to go, you respect their decision for whatever reason. We all want to keep our families safe.”
The return-to-play plan, tentatively approved by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association on Monday, was ratified by the league’s board of governors and with majority approval from players after a three-day voting period that finished Friday. Along with it, the two sides also formally approved a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement.