On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman outlined how the NHL would get back to work. Let’s just say, I’m a huge fan!

First off, the regular season is over. Done. Goodbye. Wait, though. There’s a caveat. Normally 16 teams make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Well, this year 24 teams have a shot at taking home the most coveted trophy in all of sports. That’s right. Twenty-four teams will be battling it out.

Western Conference

There’s a catch, though, and this is where it gets really good. The top four teams in both conferences earn a first-round bye. Meaning they automatically move on to the next round of the playoffs. Whereas the other eight teams in each conference will play each other (5 vs 12, 6 vs 11, 7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9) in a best three out of five series.

Typically, the playoffs are best four out of seven. Lets agree, though, this season is anything but typical. Meanwhile as those eight teams are battling it out in the first round, the top four teams will be playing a round-robin tournament to decide seeding.

So, for instance, the Dallas Stars will play one game against St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights. Regular season rules will apply. That means, if needed, there will be a five minute three on three overtime period.

Eastern Conference

Bettman told the media that he acknowledged that the top teams need to play competitive games before playing against a team that had to win a playoff series just to get there. That’s the reason for the round-robin tournament for the top four teams. There isn’t any word on whether or not they will re-seed the teams after each round or if they will play the post season bracket-style.

Another thing that makes this interesting is the fact they are looking at playing all of these games in two-hub cities. One city for the west and one for the east. Those cities are:

*Chicago
Columbus
Dallas
Edmonton
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Minneapolis-St. Paul
Pittsburgh
Toronto
Vancouver

Canada currently has a 14-day quarantine for anyone coming into the country. If this remains the case, the Canadian cities may be out of the running for these games. We’re not sure when any of this going to happen right now, but at least we have a plan going forward.

The biggest drawback to this whole thing is the fact fans won’t be able to attend the games. It’ll be weird watching playoff hockey without any fans. However, I’m sure I speak for all hockey fans when I say, “Fans or not, bring on the playoffs.”