A tentative agreement was finally reached yesterday between the NHL and the NHLPA not only on the return to play protocol but also on a new collective bargaining agreement and the start of phase 3 looks more and more likely. While the players did not have to return to Montreal for phase 2, they do have to for phase 3 and it's therefore not surprising to see them get back in town. The likes of Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron and Charles Hudon have been at it for nearly a month now but in the last two days, we've seen more of the core players skate in Brossard. Most notably, Brendan Gallagher had said he was staying put until the start of phase 3 and he's now in town so are Shea Weber (who is sporting a playoffs beard for the ages) and Carey Price. Jeff Petry also left Michigan to return today and there are less and less players missing. According to the footage showed by the Canadiens, Max Domi has yet to join the party in Brossard.
Considering Domi's condition, this isn't really surprising especially since the tentative agreement includes a clause which might mean that it won't be up to him if he gets to play or not:
The fact that Domi has type 1 diabetes and celiac disease means that he is more at risk of developing complications should he contract Covi-19 and that might just prevent him from taking part in the rest of the season. This is bound to upset Domi as he's not had the greatest season and he's set to sign a new contract in the off season but bottom line is, health and safety should come first.
We also know for sure now that Alexander Romanov will not be allowed to play when games start again that being said though, the Habs brass might see fit to bring him along for the ride and have him practice with the team and get to grips with North-American style of play. If they do not take him along, who knows when he will play again ? While the agreement states that they could allow him to play overseas for the start of next season until things start up again in the NHL, it's hard to see the Habs going down that way. Romanov is one of their best prospects on the blue line and chances are, they won't want to see him risk an injury while playing for another team.
In the good news category, Noah Juulsen is also back in Brossard and skating. Prior to taking a couple of pucks to the face in the 2018-2019 season, he was doing quite well in the NHL and hopefully, he'll be able to get back on track. One think is for sure, the Canadiens need all the help they can get on the blue line and a healthy Juulsen would be an improvement over Xavier Ouellet.
In other news, players who have a contract that expires at the end of the 2020-2021 season will be able to negotiate a contract extension 3 days after the new CBA is ratified. Hopefully, this means that Bergevin will start working on extensions for Gallagher and Danault sooner rather than later. So what's next? Well, we can expect the whole NHLPA membership to vote on the new agreement once it gets the go ahead from the Board of Governors and the NHLPA executive committee and then, finally, on July 13, the camps should start. First item on the agenda will be determining players' eligibility so we should hear about Domi's participation on Monday.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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