NHL hockey

FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2019, file photo, Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares skates during the team's NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit. Tavares took his sticks home from the rink in Toronto to tape them up so he wouldn’t waste his limited time there. NHL players could start participating in voluntary small-group workouts, and teams began opening their training facilities Monday, June 8. Players learned Thursday training camps can open July 10, pending an agreement on returning to play later this summer, and they're now expected to trickle back in preparation of the resumption of the season. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

FILE - In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, left, and Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins chase the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Chicago. Assuming everything goes according to plan and the final details are ironed out between the league and the players' union, the Blackhawks will play the Oilers in a best-of-five qualifier series for the playoff bracket. “It's been a weird three months,” Kane said during a video conference call with reporters. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - In this April 15, 2018, file photo, fans finish their food before exiting Kauffman Stadium after a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels was postponed due to inclement weather in Kansas City, Mo. As lock-downs are lifted, restrictions on social gatherings eased and life begins to resemble some sense, sports are finally starting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. When stadiums do reopen for fans, how are teams going to drive them through the gate? (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2019, file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins' Jake Guentzel celebrates after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche in Pittsburgh. Guentzel feared his season was over thanks to a shoulder injury in December. The "pause" caused by the pandemic has given him renewed optimism that he will be ready when the playoffs hopefully being this summer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - In this June 1, 2020, file photo, Gavin Bollmer, left, and his buddy, Austin LaFountain, wear Globe Life Field masks as they tour the home of the Texas Rangers baseball team in Arlington, Texas. Many organizations are trying to bridge the budget gap from the coronovirus through enhanced sponsorship sales, such as temporary billboards that could be stretched over unsold sections of seats. Teams and leagues are selling branded face masks and other personal protective equipment. Almost all of them are trying to engage fans in new and creative ways. It won't come close to making up the budget shortfall, but the hope is to survive long enough for sports to return to normal. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2019, file photo, Washington Nationals' Howie Kendrick hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of Game 7 of the baseball World Series against the Houston Astros in Houston. Major League Baseball has proposed expanding the playoff field from 10 teams to as many as 16 for this year and next season. Other major sports are accustomed to more teams in the postseason. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

FILE - In this March 7, 2020, file photo, people sit surrounded by empty seats as they wait for the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England. The crippling grip the coronavirus pandemic has had on the sports world has forced universities, leagues and franchises to evaluate how they might someday welcome back fans. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, file photo, fans pose below the NHL league logo at a display outside Falcon Stadium before an NHL Stadium Series outdoor hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche, at Air Force Academy, Colo. The NHL nailed down the final details of a playoff format if the season can resume on the same day word came out that another player has tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - In this April 26, 2019, file photo, the Stanley Cup playoffs logo is seen on the ice during a light and sound check prior to Game 1 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes, in New York. The NHL nailed down the final details of a playoff format if the season can resume on the same day word came out that another player has tested positive for the coronavirus.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)