The NHL and its players' association are closing in on a new six-year collective bargaining agreement, as well as the key details involved in facilitating the league's return-to-play plan, reports TSN's Frank Seravalli.
There are more steps to be taken before a formal announcement, but the deal appears to be imminent, Seravalli adds. The agreement would still need to be ratified by the league's board of governors and the entire NHLPA. Players will have 72 hours to vote.
Some of the details in the new deal include training camps opening July 13, with teams reporting to their respective hubs by July 26. Qualifying-round games are scheduled to begin Aug. 1, and the Stanley Cup is to be awarded in early October.
The second phase of the NHL Draft Lottery will be held Aug. 10, with the draft itself taking place in mid-October. Free agency will kick off Nov. 1.
Aside from important dates, Seravalli's report outlines several other critical factors:
Any player wishing to opt out of the league's return plan can do so without facing any discipline.
The salary cap upper-limit will be frozen at $81.5 million until hockey-related revenue hits $4.8 billion - the amount projected for the current season before the pandemic shut it down.
As previously reported, NHLers will participate in the 2022 (Beijing) and 2026 (Milan) Olympics pending agreement with the IOC.
Escrow for players will be capped at 20% next season, and that total will dip to 6% by 2025-26.
Players will defer 10% of salary and signing bonuses next season, which will be paid back in three instalments in 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26.
All no-trade and no-move clauses will travel with players to their new teams if they are dealt, even if the clause hasn't kicked in yet.
Earlier this week, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Toronto and Edmonton will be used as the two hub cities "barring any last-minute complications."
The facility will now be closed to players who were looking to train there over the weekend, but the team expects to resume practices Monday, Rutherford adds. The infected players were not identified.
Under Phase 2 of the NHL's return-to-play plan, players were permitted to begin working out in small groups at team facilities starting June 8, but the Blues waited until June 22.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were forced to shutter their training facility June 19 after three players tested positive. The venue was cleaned and re-opened five days later.
Fifteen of the 250 players who reported to training facilities for Phase 2 tested positive for the virus as of Monday. Another 11 players who did not report for voluntary workouts have also tested positive since the start of Phase 2.
Phase 3 of the NHL's return plan, which signifies the start of training camp, is set to begin July 10. However, the players have not yet voted to approve Phase 3 and Phase 4.
Toronto mayor John Tory addressed reports that the city will be one of the NHL's hub locations, saying the league has provided a thorough plan outlining safety measures.
"They had incredibly detailed disinfection and health protection measures that were in place even within the bubble to make sure they covered every angle they possibly could from the standpoint of making sure they met our public-health objectives. At least it would appear that way from what I saw," Tory said during a Thursday press conference, according to The Canadian Press.
Toronto and Edmonton have reportedly been chosen as the NHL's two hub destinations for the expanded playoffs "barring any last-minute complications," according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.
The league was originally working with a list of 10 potential cities, but a spike in COVID-19 cases across the United States appears to have shifted the NHL's focus to Canada. There were 794 active cases as of July 1 in Toronto, according to the city's data.
Teams will be split into groups of 12 during the potential restart. The Western Conference teams will play in Edmonton, and the Eastern Conference clubs will gather in Toronto.
In Toronto's plan, players would stay in a 40-acre campus-like village on the Exhibition Place grounds, which includes Toronto FC's BMO Field, the Toronto Raptors' OVO Athletic Centre, the Toronto Marlies' Coca-Cola Coliseum, and the 404-room Hotel X.
Before anything is made official, the NHL and NHLPA need to agree upon and ratify a new collective bargaining agreement, which both sides are working on as the league pushes to begin Phase 3 (the opening of training camps) on July 10.
Arguably the most charismatic sports figure to ever grace the silver screen, Creed (Carl Weathers) is the perfect opposite to Rocky Balboa's underdog character. The flamboyant, arrogant boxer, who was loosely based on a combination of fighters including Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, embraces his larger-than-life status while drawing heat and remaining likable at the same time.
9. Randy 'The Ram' Robinson
"The Wrestler" (2008)
Darren Aronofsky's dark dive into the independent circuits of professional wrestling was a masterpiece that reached Oscar-worthy success thanks to Mickey Rourke's incredible portrayal of fading grappler Robinson. "The Ram" represents everything that is wrong with fame and fortune when his continued journey toward reliving his glory years ends up costing him more important things in life. Rourke, who actually wrestled in the film, received a Best Actor nomination for his work.
8. Reggie 'Reg' Dunlop
"Slap Shot" (1977)
Silver Screen Collection / Moviepix / Getty
Already in his 50s when "Slap Shot" was released, Paul Newman's Reg has a bit of a Gordie Howe feel to him as a passionate on-ice leader who's seen and done it all but continues to ply his trade because hockey is truly his first love. As always, that trademark Newman cool is present both during the games and at the local bar.
Fair warning, however: Some of Reg's banter hasn't aged well.
7. Crash Davis
"Bull Durham" (1988)
Warning: Video contains coarse language
Davis (Kevin Costner) is a veteran catcher who is recruited to teach young hurler "Nuke" LaLoosh how to be a professional while also attempting to break a minor-league home-run record that most people don't know or care about. Davis may be rough around the edges in "Bull Durham," but his adoration for baseball and ability to deliver memorable speeches make him one of the most legendary sports characters in film history.
6. Happy Gilmore
"Happy Gilmore" (1996)
It's the perfect fish-out-of-water story: An impulsive wannabe hockey player takes on the golf world after discovering an uncanny ability to drive the ball hundreds of yards thanks to his graceless slap shot technique. As Happy, Adam Sandler is at his man-child best, yelling, punching, and cursing as he runs roughshod over the stodgy denizens of the pro tour.
5. Jesus Shuttlesworth
"He Got Game" (1998)
Casting a non-actor - then-Milwaukee Bucks star Ray Allen - to play a lead role in a drama carried plenty of risk, but Spike Lee's gambit paid off. Allen does just enough to bring teenage basketball prodigy Jesus Shuttlesworth to life, then wisely clears out of the paint to let Denzel Washington do the heavy lifting.
With Allen becoming a Hall of Famer, the Jesus Shuttlesworth character has remained in the public consciousness for well over two decades.
4. 'Steamin' Willie Beamen
"Any Given Sunday" (1999)
Warning: Video contains coarse language
Throughout the 1990s, Jamie Foxx was best known for sketch comedy show "In Living Color" and sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show." Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," which digs deeper into the seedy underbelly of professional football, helped bridge the gap from Foxx's comedic work to his Best Actor Oscar for "Ray" in 2005.
Much of Willie Beamen's story holds up today: football's pigeonholing and treatment of Black quarterbacks; acclimatizing to a rapid rise in celebrity status; and balancing on-field and off-field priorities. Beamen feels like an amalgam of many real-life QBs who came before and after - one-of-a-kind personalities and talents like Jim McMahon, Michael Vick, Baker Mayfield, and Lamar Jackson.
3. Shooter McGavin
"Happy Gilmore" (1996)
McGavin (Christopher McDonald) is everything you want from a comedic sports movie villain. For one, he sees all competitors as his inferiors - oftentimes making him both a sore loser and sore winner. Shooter also positions himself as a gatekeeper for his sport, sneering at those who upset golf's established hierarchies and traditions.
That makes him the perfect foil to Sandler's Happy, a blue-collar rube with a penchant for emotional outbursts. Of course, it doesn't take very long for Happy to turn the tables; by the end of "Happy Gilmore," Shooter has completely lost his moral high-ground, allowing Happy to seize victory.
2. Dottie Hinson
"A League of Their Own" (1992)
Runner-up on our list is Hinson (Geena Davis), the dairy farmer-turned-catcher in "A League of Their Own." After joining the All-American Girls Professional Baseball Team while her husband is away at war, Hinson becomes an immediate sensation thanks to her marvelous on-field play and leadership in this sisterhood classic that was preserved as part of the United States National Film Registry in 2012.
The greatest underdog in sports film history tops our list, and rightfully so. The iconic "Rocky" franchise has spawned eight films over five decades, and the one constant has been Balboa, a nobody boxer who made the most out of the ultimate opportunity. Just when it seems Rocky is faced with an impossible challenge, the "Italian Stallion" finds a way to overcome the odds. Balboa never quits and has proven over the past 42 years that anything is possible, especially through hard work and perseverance.
Elias Pettersson's first two seasons in the NHL have been nothing short of spectacular, but he believes he has the potential to take his talent to the next level.
"My second season I am very happy with, but I still think - or I know - I can play better," the Vancouver Canucks star said Thursday, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "First season (2018-19) was very good. I think the end of the last 20-30 games my first season wasn't that good, but it was a good learning point for me."
The 21-year-old was selected by the Canucks fifth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. He led all rookies in goals (28) and points (66) last campaign, taking home the Calder Trophy in the process.
This season, Pettersson was on pace to improve on his rookie year significantly. At the time of the season's pause on March 12, he had 27 goals and 66 points with a number of games left.
He reflected on what he can do to improve, and ultimately believes it's working on the little things that can help him develop.
"Maturing in the game, like never losing puck battles, never lose (the puck) if I'm going to try and dangle someone," Pettersson said. "Small areas, small details that I can work on to become better."
