After the National Hockey League and the Player’s Association reached an agreement on a structure of the upcoming 24-team playoff format, the two sides announced that they will begin the transition to Phase 2 of its Return To Play Plan starting next Monday.
According to a league press release, NHL clubs “will be permitted to reopen their training facilities in their home city to allow players to participate in individualized training activities (off-ice and on-ice). Players will be participating on a voluntary basis and will be scheduled to small groups (a maximum of six players at any one time, plus a limited number of club staff).
The various measures set out in the Phase 2 Protocol are intended to provide players with a safe and controlled environment in which to resume their conditioning.”
The league stressed that participating in Phase 2 is strictly voluntary and that players are not required to return to their home cities. For example, Leafs center Auston Matthews and goalie Frederik Andersen may be staying in Scottsdale, AZ for the next few weeks with the 14-day quarantine between the US and Canadian border still in place.
“We have had quite a few players, if not most of them, begin to book their travel back to Toronto, keeping in mind that some of them will have to serve the 14-day quarantine under the quarantine act.” GM Kyle Dubas said last week. "We haven't encouraged it, because it is a voluntary phase for players, but it seems that most of our guys would like to be here and at least be into their small groups with us, which will begin at some point here in the next week or two weeks."
According to John Shannon, the Leafs will have their practice facilities at the Ford Performance Centre available on Monday.
The NHL and the NHLPA continue to negotiate over an agreement on when training camp and when the 24-team playoff will begin, but there have been indications of a move to Phase 3 in mid-July and starting the playoffs in early August, with the Stanley Cup Final ending in early October.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»