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Coming on the heels of the announcement of collective bargaining agreement extension between the NHL and NHL Players Association, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported on Wednesday’s Insider Trading that when the league resumes play in early August, that the plan is for three games to be played per day in each hub city.

In Toronto and Edmonton (two hours behind in the Mountain time zone), the games will be played at 12 Noon, 4pm and 8pm, which means a total of six games with staggered starting times every two hours. The play-in rounds will be the Noon and 8pm starts with normal playoff rules including sudden-death overtime, while the 4pm starts will be round-robin games between the top 4 clubs in each conference and will be played using regular season five-minute overtime and shootouts.

The NHL will be looking to maximize their ratings for the summer Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially in the US with the league looking for a new TV contract south of the border after the 2020-21 season. That might mean giving big American markets like New York and prominent clubs like the Pittsburgh Penguins the coveted 8pm time slot.

Here's a refresher on the skill the @MapleLeafs will bring to the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. pic.twitter.com/FD7gcWXc5y

— NHL (@NHL) July 7, 2020

CBC and Sportsnet will be pleased with the Penguins playing in a primetime slot, since they have Sidney Crosby and their opponent is Montreal, but the Canadian networks might be deprived of their biggest ratings driver in the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It is possible (since the NHL’s TV deal in Canada runs through the 2025-26 season) that the Leafs will play most of their games during the afternoon because the Columbus Blue Jackets are not a big draw and Toronto will not bring significant ratings in the US.

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