Sixteen Wolverines in NHL Return to Play, League Sets Playoffs Schedule
7/14/2020 11:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sixteen former University of Michigan ice hockey players are back on the ice as the NHL opened team training camps on Monday (July 13) in preparation for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The former Wolverines include:
Colorado Avalanche: JT Compher
Columbus Blue Jackets: Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars: Andrew Cogliano
Edmonton Oilers: Cooper Marody
Minnesota Wild: Greg Pateryn (injured reserve)
New York Rangers: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Jacob Trouba
Pittsburgh Penguins: Jack Johnson
Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks: Quinn Hughes, Tyler Mott
Vegas Golden Knights: Jon Merrill, Max Pacioretty
Washington Capitals: Carl Hagelin
Winnipeg Jets: Andrew Copp, Kyle Connor
The agreement to the league's Return to Play Plan was decided Friday (July 10) along with a four-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHL Players' Association Negotiating Committee. Michigan had three representatives (Copp, Compher and Hyman) on the 12-seat committee.
Training camp rosters are limited to 30 skaters and an unlimited number of goalies, which later will be reduced to a total squad size of 31, including goalies. Seven players have opted out of the restart of the season, including former Wolverine Steven Kampfer (Bruins) who cited concern for his wife and son, who has a congenital heart condition, in a tweet Saturday (July 11). Kampfer was a member of the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
The teams are scheduled to arrive in one of two hub cities, Toronto for Eastern Conference teams and Edmonton for the Westrn Conference, on July 26. Edmonton also was selected as the site of the Stanley Cup Final.
The qualifying round of the playoffs will be eight best-of-five series, while the top four teams in each conference will play in a three-game round-robin format. The games are slated to begin Aug. 1 in the hub cities.
Eastern Conference
Top Four: Bruins, Capitals (Hagelin), Flyers, Lightning
Qualifying Round Series
Penguins (Johnson) vs. Canadiens
Hurricanes vs. Rangers (Di Giuseppe, Trouba)
Islanders vs. Panthers
Maple Leafs (Hyman) vs. Blue Jackets (Werenski)
Western Conference
Top Four: Avalanche (Compher), Blues, Golden Knights (Merrill, Pacioretty), Stars (Cogliano)
Qualifying Round Series:
Oilers (Marody) vs. Blackhawks
Predators vs. Coyotes
Canucks (Hughes, Motte) vs. Wild (Pateryn)
Flames vs. Jets (Connor, Copp)
More maize and blue will be behind the bench for playoffs, including Kelly McCrimmon (general manager, Golden Knights), David Oliver (assistant coach, Rangers), Brian Wiseman (assistant coach, Oilers) and Mike Van Ryn (assistant coach, Blues)
Twenty-one Wolverines competed in the NHL this season, with Josh Norris (Ottawa Senators) becoming the 100th to play in the league.
Michigan players have won the Stanley Cup a total of 22 times, the last being Van Ryn with the Blues in 2018-19. Carl Hagelin and Kevin Porter each won the Cup twice as players with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
• NHL Return to Play FAQs (PDF)
