As Phase 2 of the NHL’s Return to Play protocols kicks off this week, we’re getting a little bit of clarity about what plans are looking like for the transition to the next stage. Phase 3 of the protocols is the beginning of training camps, which according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun is still looking like mid-July.
The most recent official direction from the NHL on the subject is that camps won’t open before July 10. It has yet to be determined through negotiations whether camps will be two weeks or three weeks. Two weeks would put the beginning of the qualifying round in late July at the earliest, while three weeks would push it into early August.