St. Louis Blues: NHL Training Camps Likely Delayed A Few Days
By Todd Panula
The St. Louis Blues thought they knew when the team would all be back together. That might not be the case.
The St. Louis Blues, as well as 23 other NHL teams, thought they knew the date when each roster would convene for full practices. A dragging of feet, coupled with the continuing global situation, took a page out of Lee Corso’s book and said not so fast my friend.
As of right now, this should be considered a rumor until the NHL confirms it. However, it appears as though training camp will be delayed.
Originally, the NHL and all it’s playoff and play-in series members were going to have their camps start on July 10. Of course, that was predicated on the NHL and the NHLPA coming to terms on the return to play.
The return to play scenario got tied into negotiations for an extension of the current CBA. To the layman, that seems odd since the current CBA was good until the summer of 2022.
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The reason to extend the CBA is to give a longer period of labor peace and certainty to allow the salary cap situation to settle, even with the current economic climate. Labor peace gives the league better footing on which to negotiate their new television deal, which would mean more money for players – in theory.
Fortunately, according to the New York Post, as well as other sources, this does not look like a lengthy delay. As of right now, July 13 is the tentative date.
Some might question what three days will accomplish. The hope is that enough has already been ironed out that the league and players association only need to cover a few more details.
According to most sources, the majority of things have been agreed on. It just has to be put to a vote.
Long night of negotiations/hard work between NHL/NHLPA appears to have resulted in agreement on most issues on Phase 3/4 RTP, CBA extension, transition rules. Still a couple of items to finalize today. NOTHING, of course, is actually done until both sides ratify a tentative deal.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2020
There was even a report saying the league and players had agreed to join the Olympics in 2022 and 2026. I was not able to find that tweet again however, so don’t take that to the bank.
The bottom line is that things have been pushed back a bit. Most indications are this being contract/vote related and not having to do with the virus situation.
Next. Hub cities not official, but likely down to two. dark
Time will tell. For now, we still have a tentative date for the return of the Blues to a full practice. It’ll just be a few days later than we thought.