NHL sets start date for training camps. Here’s when the Florida Panthers will be back
A day after the Florida Panthers reopened their training facilities for voluntary small-group workouts, the NHL and NHL Players Association reached a deal to start training camp in less than a month.
The league and players announced Thursday they will begin training camps July 10 as the NHL shoots for a return to play in late July. The length of the training camp and a target start date for the return-to-play tournament have not yet been announced.
Training camps beginning will mark the start of Phase 3 in the NHL’s return-to-play plan. The league began Phase 2 on Monday, when it allowed teams to regain access to their practice facilities for small group workouts of up to six players at a time. Teams have begun returning to facilities throughout the week and the Panthers reopened the Florida Panthers IceDen for workouts Wednesday.
Florida is one of 24 teams still competing for the Stanley Cup after the NHL announced a modified postseason format in May. The Panthers will convene with the rest of the Eastern Conference teams in a central, thus-far unannounced location in the summer to play in this modified tournament. Florida will face the New York Islanders in a best-of-5 series in the qualifying round to earn a spot in the more traditional 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs.
Last month, general manager Dale Tallon said about half of the Panthers’ roster was back in South Florida and ready to participate in the voluntary workouts in Coral Springs.
The NHL’s timeline positions Florida to be the second South Florida professional sports team to return to action this summer. Major League Soccer on Wednesday detailed its return-to-play plan, which calls Inter Miami training camp to begin shortly and for the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament to begin in July. The NBA has not yet outlined any specific dates for training camps to begin or the season to resume, although the league is reportedly eyeing a late-July start date, too.
