Connor McDavid says the NHL‘s return-to-play plan is far from perfect, but “it’s the best we got.” The captain of the Edmonton Oilers was part of the NHL/NHLPA’s Return to Play Committee that worked to come up with the blueprint announced earlier this week should the league be able to resume its season this summer.
If the NHL, which paused its schedule March 12 because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, gets the green light from government and health officials, 24 teams would be left to compete for the Stanley Cup.
The top-4 teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences would play separate mini-tournaments to determine seeding, while the remaining franchises would battle in best-of-five qualifying round series to complete 16-club playoff