Teams will travel from their home markets on July 26 to either Toronto or Edmonton, the hub cities where all of the games will be played. The entire playoff tournament is scheduled to be played in no more than 66 days — commencing Aug. 1 with the best-of-five qualifying round and producing a champion by the first week of October.
By guaranteeing labour peace for at least six more seasons, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association have also created a stable environment to try and wait out the storm brought on by the coronavirus.