Details on NHL's Return-to-Play Plans

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced details about the league's return-to-play plan this afternoon. The regular season is over and the remaining 24 teams would resume play in a tournament where each conference plays in a hub city. Locations will be announced at a later date. Potential host cities include:

Bettman added this decision will likely need to be made in the next three-four weeks.

As pointed out by Pierre LeBrun, this means regular-season player stats are done and awards can be voted on and awarded before the season resumes.

The exact playoff format is still up-in-air. Bettman says the Return to Play Committee is debating whether to use re-seeding or bracketing.

There are no dates set right now, but Bettman says NHL's season could conceivably run through the fall. There will not be any formal training camps, Phase 3, before July 1. It's not clear how long they would need before returning to actual games. According to reports, the NBA is in talks to restart its season in late July. 

Overall, today's news is another step in the right direction for what should be a riveting summer and fall in sports.

Here are more notes from Bettman this afternoon:

Hockey, anyone?