The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) have reached a tentative agreement on a Return to Play Plan and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that adds an additional four years to the term of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement and includes transition rules and a new critical dates calendar.
As part of the tentative agreement, the following dates have been established:
July 13 – Start of formal training camps; July 26 – Clubs travel to hub cities; August 1 – Start of Qualifying Round.
The tentative agreement is now subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors, as
well as the NHLPA’s Executive Board followed by the full NHLPA membership. The respective
review and approval processes will take place over the next few days and there will be no further
comment until those processes are completed.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson continues to receive accolades for a spectacular 2019-20 season that may conclude with his playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 18-year-old was ranked 10th among the top 50 NHL prospects by Scott Wheeler of the Athletic.
Robertson led the Peterborough Petes and the Ontario Hockey League with 55 goals in 46 games this season, was a top performer for Team USA at the 2020 IIHF World Junior in the Czech Republic and was the winner of the OHL’s William Hanley Trophy for Most Sportsmanlike Player.
"(Robertson) was really strong for us in the rookie tournament in Traverse City, carried that through training camp. I think looking back and reflecting on it, we probably should have given him more of a look in training camp and probably reward (him with) an exhibition game or two to see how he did there, but he went back to Peterborough, had a great attitude and was an excellent player for them right away." Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said about Robertson earlier this season. “I know the goal scoring was prolific, but the part of his game we really came to admire during the season was his play on the defensive side, especially on the penalty kill. His ability to win the puck back and then, and then tear down the ice and introduce chances and scoring for the Petes (and) obviously played a huge role (for Team USA at the 2020 World Junior) as well”
The Northville, MI native was selected 53rd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and took major steps forward by shooting more and utilizing his ample skill set. The 5’9” 164 lb. winger ranked behind 2015 Minnesota Wild draft pick Kirill Kaprizov and eight players selected ahead of him in Vancouver; first-rounders Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caulfield, Alex Newhook, Bowen Byram, Alex Turcotte, Peyton Krebs, and second-rounder Arthur Kaliyev, but had the most goals and a higher points-per-game average than the others ranked in the top 10.
Our July 4th Weekend show discusses the NHL Draft Lottery Deadline, Toronto & Edmonton S Hub Cities, great news on #Flyers Oskar Lindblom, & Russ’ latest Food Oddities.
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