Full details of official 24 team playoffs including matchups!

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Tuesday the league is planning a 24-team Return to Play format and revealed what the matchups will look like. 

However, there are still important details to be ironed out. As Bettman explained first-round playoff matchups could still be set using either a bracket or seeding, adding: “Since we have endeavoured to be sensitive to the players’ preferences.”

The league prefers bracket, the players prefer seeding.

He also said either best-of-five or best-of-seven will be used in Rounds 1 and 2. It will be best-of-seven for the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final.

He then revealed the matchups: 

General managers were informed earlier in a conference call before the league’s announcement. The National Hockey League Players’ Association Executive Board gave the green light on a 24-team Return to Play proposal last week.

We are still in the first steps of a series of things that need to go right for the NHL to resume its 2019-20 season as there remains a lot of details to iron on, however, this is encouraging news for fans, players and staff out there.