Canada's NHL teams may be forced to play in U.S.
New plan ramps up pressure on provinces to allow games in home arenas as virus spikes
The idea of an all-canadian division in the NHL this season may have to be scrapped.
That's because the seven teams based north of the border could be moved to the United States to play out the 2020-21 campaign.
League sources confirmed reports Thursday night that the NHL is studying the possibility of having the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg
Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks play out of the U.S. this season unless provincial health authorities agree to allow them to play in their home cities.
All seven Canadian teams were informed of the possibility during a call with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Thursday afternoon.
While all seven teams and
NHL officials are negotiating with governments in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, health authorities in those provinces have yet to issue an official go-ahead.
Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman reported that the possibility of playing in hub cities in Toronto and Edmonton has been discussed, but ideally, Canadian teams want to play in their own rinks.
The NHL and the players' association are negotiating a 56-game schedule that's tentatively scheduled to start on Jan. 13. Given the news, that date is a long shot and it may be more realistic for the NHL to shoot for a 48-game schedule that starts around Feb. 1.
Provincial health authorities are concerned with rising COVID-19 case counts across the country, and unless they're on board, the NHL'S seven teams won't be allowed to play here.
Lisa Macleod, Ontario's minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture, told reporters on Thursday she's held talks with officials from the Senators and Maple Leafs.
“In terms of (the NHL'S) direct proposal, I believe I'm going to be briefed on that in the next day or so,” said Macleod, who added she would also be speaking with Steven Guilbault, the federal minister of heritage, in the next day or so.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters on Wednesday he believes the issues can be worked out.
“I think the stakes are more on the side of what concessions the players will make on their salaries,” Legault said in his daily briefing.
“As far as health standards are concerned, we managed to do it this summer (with all teams in secure zones in Edmonton and Toronto), so I think it will be possible to do it from mid-january.”
If the Leafs, Senators, Habs, Flames, Oilers, Jets and Canucks can't get clearance, then the idea of an all-canadian division will likely have to be abandonned.
However, don't rule out the possibility of a non-nhl city in the U.S. offering the opportunity to host all seven Canadian teams in one place if the league wants to go that route. That doesn't make sense on the surface, but the NHL has already gone a long way in scheduling a Canadian division and it could be done in a U.S. hub format.
Nobody would be surprised if officials from Kansas City, Milwaukee, Orlando and Austin reach out to the league to offer their buildings as possible destinations for the Canadian teams.
All 31 teams would rather play in their own buildings so they can make a little bit of money from sponsorship deals via rink board advertising.
Last summer, the province of Ontario was willing to allow the Toronto Blue Jays to host games without fans at the Rogers Centre, but the Canadian government was unwilling to waive the 14-day quarantine rules for teams coming from south of the border.
As a result, the Jays played their season based out of Buffalo.
The same rules applied to the NBA'S Toronto Raptors, and as a result, they'll play their 72-game 2020-21 season based out of the Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Naturally, league officials are still hopeful this can get worked out, and that was expressed during their calls to the Canadian teams on Thursday.
However, if some provinces won't bend to allow this to happen, then it wouldn't be a shock to see everybody based out of the U.S. so the NHL can have a meaningful season.
You have to think provincial officials will find a way to get this resolved because the optics of seven Canadian teams having to house themselves in the U.S. aren't good.
There's no question this story leaking isn't the worst news for the NHL.
There's going to be tremendous public pressure in all five provinces where Canadian teams play to get a deal in place that will allow them to play in their home cities, or at the very least, in hubs in Canada.
Otherwise, it's going to be a long winter, and whether or not the teams can sell tickets in U.S. cities, there's going to be an economic impact in the marketplaces where the Canadian teams are housed if they can't play in their own buildings at some point this season.
A country will be waiting with bated breath for the outcome of negotiations between the NHL and the provincial officials.