The NHL’s return-to-play plan came into even sharper focus Thursday. If the league is able to resume the pandemic-hit 2019-20 season this summer, its playoffs will feature the usual four rounds of best-of-seven series after the qualifying portion of the schedule.
The NHL announced the 24-team format last week, but had yet to iron out some of the specifics, including whether or not the first two rounds of the playoffs would be best-of-five or best-best of seven.
Along with the decision on series length, teams will be re-seeded after each playoff round instead of being placed in a bracket.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last week the league favoured a bracket, which has been in place since 2014. The players, however, preferred re-seeding