The earliest reports seem to indicate that the soonest the NHL is looking at returning is July — meaning at the very least, we all have to get through the next month and some change, give or take. On April 30th, the NHL will be launching a four-week series to help us all get through May, temporarily turning into an Esports league and hosting a tournament on NHL20 on PS4.
Players will represent each of the 32 teams; 13 teams have just one representative, including the Unnamed Seattle NHL Franchise, who will be represented by Luke Willson of the Seattle Seahawks. All other teams have two, including the LA Kings, who will be using both Michael Amadio and rookie Blake Lizotte.
From the release:
Over the course of four weeks, beginning April 30, each Club will be represented by one or two current players and featured in a one-time matchup against another Club. Weekly matchups, storylines and broadcast details will be revealed at the beginning of each week. This League esports activation in EA SPORTS™ NHL®20 is a fun and unique way to engage hockey and gaming fans and is supported by the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
The partnership will see Electronic Arts and the National Hockey League Foundation donate a combined $100,000 to the CDC Foundation’s COVID-19 relief efforts. There’s also a hashtag for the event (#HockeyAtHome) to promote social distancing measures. All featured matches will be streamed on the NHL’s social platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere and NHL.com.
Here’s the full list of participants:
Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler
Arizona Coyotes: Conor Garland, Clayton Keller
Boston Bruins: Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy
Buffalo Sabres: Brandon Montour
Calgary Flames: Noah Hanifin, Matthew Tkachuk
Carolina Hurricanes: Warren Foegele
Chicago Blackhawks: Drake Caggiula, Alex DeBrincat
Columbus Blue Jackets: Elvis Merzlikins, Zach Werenski
Colorado Avalanche: J.T. Compher
Dallas Stars: Stephen Johns, Jamie Oleksiak
Detroit Red Wings: Madison Bowey, Anthony Mantha
Edmonton Oilers: Caleb Jones, Darnell Nurse
Florida Panthers: Jonathan Huberdeau
Los Angeles Kings: Michael Amadio, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota Wild: Devan Dubnyk, Jordan Greenway
Montreal Canadiens: Victor Mete, Nick Suzuki
Nashville Predators: Filip Forsberg
New Jersey Devils: Mackenzie Blackwood
New York Islanders: Matt Martin
New York Rangers: Chris Kreider
NHL Seattle: Luke Willson, Seattle Seahawks (NFL)
Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk, Chris Tierney
Philadelphia Flyers: James van Riemsdyk
Pittsburgh Penguins: Zach Aston-Reese, Bryan Rust
San Jose Sharks: Evander Kane, Marcus Sorensen
St Louis Blues: Colton Parayko, Robert Thomas
Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson
Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks: Thatcher Demko, Adam Gaudette
Vegas Golden Knights: Ryan Reaves, Alex Tuch
Washington Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov
Winnipeg Jets: Anthony Bitetto, Kyle Connor
For more information and to read the full release, click here.