NHL takes an important step towards returning to action

Hockey is inching its way towards returning as the NHLPA voted on Friday to approve the NHL’s 24-team playoff proposal. While the vote was not unanimous with a 29-2 split among the 31 teams, it was more than enough to push forward towards a return to action.

The NHLPA released a statement that reads:

The executive board of the NHLPA has authorized further negotiations with the NHL on a 24-team return to play format to determine the winner of the 2020 Stanley Cup.

Several details remain to be negotiated and an agreement on the format would still be subject to the parties reaching agreement on all issues relevant to resuming play.

The specifics of the NHL getting back on the ice in their bid to award the Stanley Cup this summer are still to be determined but getting the player’s association on board with the league in a general agreement moving forward was a key step that other leagues are still tackling.

The nuts and bolts still have to be hammered out, such as cities where the games will be located, but it looks like the NHL is zeroing in on having two host cities be the hubs for the 24 teams involved in the action.

Under the current format, this is tentatively what the playoff matchups would be with a round of play-in games leading to a regular 16-team format:

In this, Colorado would get a bye and play the other three teams in the West with byes in St. Louis, Dallas, and Vegas. It’s not clear yet whether those teams playing will be more to get them into game shape or have an actual impact on seeding.

If the seeds remain static based on standings, the Avalanche are set to open their Stanley Cup chase against the winner of the Minnesota-Vancouver series, giving several interesting storylines to follow.

The Avs either get their old foe in the Wild, who are 2-1 against the Avs in their three playoff matchups, or Colorado gets Vancouver and hotshot rookie Quinn Hughes, who is Cale Makar’s primary competition for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

You can’t have a conversation in the earshot of other hockey fans about Hughes or Makar without the other one inevitably being brought up so it would be nice to get this rivalry started with a little playoff head-to-head.

Or the Avs could once again be favored against Minnesota and force them to come through Denver, as they most recently did in a galling seven-game series back in 2014.

Either way, should this format hold, Colorado looks like they’re going to get an awfully interesting opening round opponent and will be favored in a playoff series for the first time in six years.

Look for an official announcement from the NHL in the next week or so as they begin sifting through those pesky details that could still hold up any potential return to the ice.