NHL, NHLPA reach tentative agreement, season could start Jan. 13

Drop the puck in mid-January? The National Hockey League is well on the way to making that happen.

The NHL and its players reached a tentative deal Friday to hold a 56-game season that would begin Jan. 13. The NHLPA executive board gave the agreement a green light to proceed, but players and owners must hold formal votes and Canadian health officials give their approval before it becomes reality.

Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the sides have an agreement, pending the approval of various executive committees.

Players on the NHLPA’s executive board call Friday night supported moving forward with the agreed upon terms, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because players had yet to officially approve the agreement.

The league’s Board of Governors could vote on the plan as soon as this weekend. Approval from health officials in the five Canadian provinces that have teams is still needed before the NHL can go ahead with the season.

Training camps for the seven non-playoff teams like the Sharks would open Dec. 31 and then Jan. 3 for the other 24 teams. It’s unclear whether teams would play in their home arenas or in “hub” cities, though an all-divisional schedule is expected.

Exhibition games aren’t expected to be included in the leadup to the new season. Sportsnet in Canada first reported the tentative agreement.

If the tentative dates hold, it does not appear as if the Sharks will be able start their training camp in San Jose. Santa Clara County’s contact sports ban, originally scheduled to lift Monday, instead will run through at least Jan. 8, according to an updated protocol that aligns with state restrictions.

It is believed the Sharks would instead hold training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, following in the footsteps of the 49ers, who relocated to the Phoenix area Dec. 2 after Santa Clara County’s restrictions were announced.

Because of the ban and the mandatory 10-day quarantine for those arriving into the county from more than 150 miles away, it is not clear when the Sharks will be able to play home games at SAP Center. The 49ers announced Friday that their Jan. 3 game against the Seattle Seahawks will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, where the 49ers have played their past two games.

The Sharks have not played a regular season game since March 11 after they missed the NHL postseason for the first time since 2015. If there is an all-Canadian division, the Sharks could be in the same division as Los Angeles, Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Vegas and, per multiple reports, Minnesota and St. Louis. Sportsnet reported the top four teams in each of the four divisions would make the playoffs.

The NHL, like the NBA, finished its previous season in a quarantined bubble — two of them, one each in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. Commissioner Gary Bettman awarded the Stanley Cup to the Tampa Bay Lightning in late September in Edmonton.

Owners and players agreed to a long-term extension of the collective bargaining agreement before the 2019-20 season resumed, setting the table for financial ramifications of the pandemic. They agreed recently to stick to that deal, which includes players deferring 10% of salaries, a cap on money they pay into escrow and a flat $81.5 million cap.

The NHL follows the NBA in moving toward another regular season. The basketball season opens Tuesday.

One hurdle remaining is where the seven Canada-based teams will play. The original plan was to put them in the same division, though tougher pandemic restrictions north of the border put that into limbo this week.

“The resumption of sports events in Canada must be undertaken in adherence to Canada’s measures to mitigate the importation and spread of COVID-19,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement Thursday night. “NHL teams and other professional sports must operate within the rules of their provincial jurisdictions for sports or sporting events.”

Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays played last season in Buffalo, New York, and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors have relocated to Tampa, Florida, because of government prohibitions.

Staff writer Curtis Pashelka contributed to this story.