The New York Islanders will begin their run for the 2020 Stanley Cup on August 1 against the Florida Panthers in a best-of-five qualifying round series in Toronto.
Read that sentence to someone from 2019 and watch their head spin as they try to make sense of (1) hockey in August, (2) a best-of-five series, (3) a qualifying round, (4) playing in Toronto.
But here we are on the verge of summer hockey that will eventually, if all goes well, lead into fall hockey. It's a wild time.
On August 1, the Isles will take to the ice for their first competitive game since the 2019-20 season was suspended back on March 12.