NHLPA

New York Rangers have Playoff Schedule Set as the NHL and NHLPA Ratify CBA and Return-to-Play

by
New York Rangers, Ryan Strome

The New York Rangers are getting closer to returning to action. The NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association voted on Friday to ratify the Return to Play protocol and collective bargaining agreement.  Also, The NHL released its schedule for the qualifying-round matchups in the 24-team playoff following the ratification announcement.

New York Ranger Playoff Dates

Saturday, August 1

Monday, August 3

Tuesday, August 4

Thursday, August 6 (if necessary)

Saturday, August 8 (if necessary)

The times of each game haven’t been officially set, but the league is reportedly planning to begin contests in each hub city at noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. local time.

The Rangers will call the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto home, which is located just outside the bubble. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that the hotels will be “fully locked down.” They will be joined at this location by the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, and the Montreal Canadiens. The rest of the Eastern Conference teams will be at Hotel X, which is located on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, where there will be a 40-acre campus-like village for the players.

Highlights of the RTP and CBA

The CBA extension runs through September 2026, and the agreement officially paves the way for the league to proceed with the 24-team playoff tournament.

Players have until 5 p.m. ET on Monday to opt-out of the return to play. They don’t have to provide a reason, and those who opt out won’t be penalized as long as they inform their teams by the deadline.

According to TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli, NHLPA membership voted 502 to 135 in favor of ratifying the full collective bargaining agreement.

Players had to agree to extensive protocols governing camps and the bubble environment around where games are played, requiring them to be separated from their families for up to six weeks this summer. They also had to agree to terms on a revamped collective agreement, which will see them defer 10 percent of next year’s salary while the upper limit of the cap is held firm at $81.5-million for as long as it takes NHL business to return to normal.

While not ideal, it was probably the best that both sides could do under these difficult times. The agreement allows the players to achieve modest gains to the league minimum salary, the amount they can be paid on entry-level contracts, and how much escrow can be deducted from future paychecks. It also allows players to return to the Olympics in 2022  and 2026,

By guaranteeing labor peace for at least six more seasons, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association has also created a stable environment to try and wait out the difficulties brought on by COVID-19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CBA and Safety Protocols Nearly Ratified: New York Rangers Playoff Games Could be Set for August 1

by
National Hockey League, NHL

New York Rangers hockey is ready to return as the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association have agreed in principle on a memorandum of understanding for a four-year extension of the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, through the 2025-26 season, and protocols for Phases 3 and 4 of the NHL Return to Play Plan with the intention of resuming games Aug. 1.

The current CBA, ratified in January 2013, was scheduled to expire on September 15, 2022. With this extension, it would expire on September 15, 2026.

The NHL and NHLPA each declined its option to reopen this agreement in Sept. 2019, which would have triggered its expiration. The sides instead decided to continue discussions about an extension that began during the 2019 offseason. Negotiations continued after the NHL paused the 2019-20 season March 12 due to concerns surrounding coronavirus and have been a part of the process of determining the NHL Return to Play Plan, which was announced May 26 with 24 teams competing for the Stanley Cup.

Under the new deal, players will defer 10 percent of next season’s salary and see another 20 percent contributed to capped escrow. The upper limit of the salary cap will be held flat at $81.5-million.

Before training camps are able to open on July 13, ratification votes for the entire return-to-play package will be held by the NHL’s Board of Governors and the full NHLPA membership. A simple majority is needed among players while three-quarters of owners have to support the plan for it to move ahead.

Reaching this stage of the restart plan required a complex rethinking of the league’s economic system for the next couple of years. Even though the current CBA was due to run through September 2022, a negotiated extension was needed with the NHL set to lose more than a $1-billion for the 2019-20 season and even more than that in a 2020-21 campaign that will likely be played in buildings at less than full capacity because of COVID-related restrictions.

 

 

 

Report: NHL has Target Date for New York Rangers to Enter Re-opening Phase 2

by
New York Rangers

According to TSN‘s Pierre LeBrun, The NHL and NHLPA sent out a 29-page Phase 2 protocol memo to the New York Rangers and other teams late on Sunday. The memo details the plan to reopen team facilities and allow small group workouts.

This comes on the heels of a recent announcement by New York State governor Andrew Cuomo that allows New York state sports teams to conduct practices and training in their facilities. ESM covered this in more detail in an article you can find here.

Phase 2 will allow a maximum of six players in a practice facility at one time, and no coaches or personnel will be permitted on the ice with them, according to LeBrun. He also added that players would need to wear face coverings at all times, except when exercising or on the ice, upon entering or leaving the facility and while inside where social distancing cannot be maintained.

The memo outlines how teams can safely return to practice facilities, and the protocols players and staff must follow to do so. LeBrun added that participation during this phase is strictly voluntary, and players outside of their home cities are not yet required to return. The memo also states that based on the current information available, the NHL is now targeting a date in early June for a transition to Phase 2. This will give the New York Rangers time to determine where they want to train and provide players with guidance on how and when to return.

LeBrun also says that when it comes to testing players and staff during Phase 2, the NHL will do so as long as tests are available. he also wrote that the memo also stated:

“As an over-riding principle, testing of asymptomatic players and club personnel must be done in the context of excess testing capacity, so as to not deprive health care workers, vulnerable populations, and symptomatic individuals from necessary diagnostic tests.”

There were no mentions of Phase 3 (training camp) and Phase 4 (return to play) in the memo, but this is a positive sign for the New York Rangers and their fans that hockey will return at some point in the near future.

 

 

The New York Rangers and the NHL Face Some Hurdles Before They Can Return

by
New York Rangers, Mika Zibanejad

While the New York Rangers are more than happy to resume this season, there are still many details that need to be worked out in order for the Blueshirts and the rest of the NHL teams to return to action. That includes more than just the format that the NHLPA mentioned in their cryptic announcement when they have accepted the league’s proposal to have a 24 team tournament. Here are some of the stumbling blocks:

Testing of Players and Staff

The NHL is facing the same questions that the other leagues are facing if they want to return. How often do we test? What happens if someone tests positive? Are we taking tests away from the general public? How often do we do temperature checks? The first thing to realize is that none of this will happen if we see a spike in the number of cases in the coming weeks. Most pundits believe that if everything is worked out, training camps might begin at the end of June or in early July. There are still some players wondering if they should even return this year at all. A further spike in cases in either country might shut the whole thing down.

Hub Cities and Lifestyle

The NHL will more than likely use hub communities to host at least most of the tournaments. There are locations around the United States and Canada that have been hit less hard by COVID-19 than in other parts. Two of the leading contenders for hubs are Las Vegas and Edmonton. The players are concerned about what life will be like for them in these hubs. Many have expressed a desire to not be away from their families for months at a time. They also may not be too happy with being confined to an area and needing team permission to leave their hotel, like MLB wants to implement for their players.

Most are fairly sure that Rangers players can keep themselves occupied in Las Vegas. But what if they are assigned to Edmonton? Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Edmonton has made a huge push for being a host city, coming up with a plan to make the lifestyle bearable for players and possibly family that might be there. Dreger reported that Edmonton has touted its cooler temperatures, along with providing secure golf courses and setting up outdoor big screens for movies and other games as a way to make their location attractable.

The biggest issue against Edmonton and any other potential Canadian city hub is the mandatory 14-day quarantine that is imposed on anyone entering Canada. Many players have said privately that they would not like to do that.

Where will training camps take place

Will the New York Rangers train in the New York City area before heading off to a hub? The issue could be that some players may have to cross three borders in order to play, something that carries some difficulty. You may see a player travel from Europe to the U.S., and then to Canada, something that many health experts recommend against.

Players’ Work Visas

NHL players who come in from other countries on a work visa will see them expire on June 30. One would think that the respective governments would take care of this but they are quite busy at the time being. It is not a sure thing that it will just happen overnight.

Most believe that all of this will be taken care of and that we will see the New York Rangers in NHL action sometime this summer. It will just take a lot of work to make it happen.