NHL, NHLPA reach tentative agreement on CBA, Return to Play Plan

It’s finally official. After weeks of negotiating, the NHL and NHLPA have reached a tentative agreement on the Return to Play Plan and an extension of the collective bargaining agreement.

With the tentative agreement in place, we now have actual dates regarding the resumption of the 2019-20 NHL season. The key dates are as follows:

July 13 — Start of Phase 3 (formal training camps)
July 26 — Clubs travel to hub cities (Toronto and Edmonton)
August 1 — Start of Phase 4 (Qualifying round of 24-team tournament)

There’s a lot to unpack here, so here are the key takeaways:

If you’d like to know more about the agreement, you can read the full Return to Sport Protocol for both Phase 3 and Phase 4 here.

While a memorandum of understanding has been reached, the NHL Board of Governors and NHLPA now must ratify the agreement. It is not a guarantee that the agreement will be ratified. If this is the case, the NHL and NHLPA will have to head back to the drawing board. For now, though, this is excellent news for those hoping to watch playoff hockey this summer.