NHL announces 24-team return in July or later

The NHL will end its current hiatus with 24 teams resuming play in two hub cities as early as late July, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced in a video briefing on Tuesday. Bettman laid out a general framework of the NHL’s plan, though many dates, locations and formats have yet to be finalized as the league takes a wait-and-see approach amid the coronavirus pandemic. Several points are certain, however. The regular season has essentially been deemed complete, and the top 12 teams from each conference — determined by points percentage when play was suspended on March 12 — will either advance directly to the 16-team playoffs or to a play-in competition. Each conference...