Good News, Preds Fans: Hockey Is Coming Back

We could all use some good news, and our beloved sport is delivering.
On Friday evening, the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association came together for two monumental announcements, both of which will keep the Nashville Predators on the ice - both in the near and long-term future.
The first of those notices from the two parties confirmed the ratification and approval of the NHL and NHLPA's Return To Play Plan, an agreement that projects to see the League and its players return to action on Aug. 1, as 24 teams begin to compete for the 2020 Stanley Cup.

The Preds are one of those clubs, and after two weeks of training camp, which is slated to begin on July 13, they'll begin their journey northward. Along with 11 other Western Conference teams, the Predators will report to the NHL hub city of Edmonton on July 26 with their Qualifying Round series against the Arizona Coyotes slated to start less than a week later as the calendar turns to August.

The second part of the deal - and perhaps the more notable aspect - is the extension of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement through the 2025-26 campaign. Simply put, the NHL will be on the ice - with labor peace - for the next six seasons.
Two of the more prominent points in the CBA extension include NHL participation in the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympic Games - pending agreement with the International Olympic Committee - and a flat salary cap that will remain at $81.5 million for the 2020-21 season and remain there until hockey-related revenue returns to $4.8 billion.
As far as potential Olympic participation is concerned, well, it's some of the best hockey a fan could ever dream of.
Since the pause - and then the eventual determined conclusion - of the 2019-20 NHL regular season, the League and Players' Association have worked tirelessly to come up with responsible and sustainable solutions for the game now and in the future
Friday's announcement ensures the Predators, as well as the rest of the NHL's member clubs, will have a viable path for recovery and growth in the years to come.

Nashvillians, Tennesseans and Preds fans all over the country, continent and world have been through a lot lately. For so many, sports - and Predators hockey - provide an escape from the rigors of everyday life. At a time when we needed the spirit of competition, the unification of the 7th Man, the simple desire of a winning goal more than anything, we had nowhere to turn.
Now, all that is about to change, and slowly but surely, the golden horizon is brightening by the day.
Hockey is coming back, and that's some good news we can all use.