So it seems Rangers and Islanders will be tied to Vegas when and if the competition starts in late July or early August. Various sources have confirmed that the NHL has settled in Vegas as one of its two hub cities to host the tournament.
Because the league had previously indicated it would not allow the team to play at home, so the Golden Knight and the Western Conference would be located in another hub city, which the NHL would like to call Toronto if Canada cancels its 14-day quarantine requirements for all individuals entering the country.
So in Vegas, Rangers-Carolina and Islanders-Florida alongside Pittsburgh-Montreal and Columbus-Toronto in the best-five qualifying rounds, and Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia play round-robins to establish seeding sequences.
Chances are – at least for the qualification round, if not outside – Games 1 and 2 and Games 3 and 4 will be played consecutively with one day in between. That is the scheduling format that applies to the first two rounds from 1980-84 and to the first round from 1980-89.
There were five years, from 1975-79, where two teams received a bye from the best-of-threes preliminary round. The team that received a bye went 9-1 in the quarter-final match – Islanders 1978, who dropped Game 7 overtime to Lanny McDonald and Maple Leafs, the only losers.
The parameters for training camp eligibility have not been established, so it is unknown whether the 24 teams included in the tournament will be able to invite players whose contracts start next season and therefore do not qualify to compete this summer.
There is a lot of talk about the 2020-21 season, which will start in December or January so that the league can play as much as possible this year with fans in the stands, which is done with only conference schedules.
