Game on
Manitoba approves NHL in Winnipeg, clearing way for play across Canada
The NHL’s one-time-only, all-Canadian division cleared its final hurdle Friday.
Developments south of the border related to COVID-19, however, were far less encouraging.
Manitoba announced it will allow the Winnipeg Jets to play home games during the pandemic, joining Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia in giving the league’s plan to resume action north of the border this season a thumbs up.
Friday’s move came after the province made a minor modification to current public health orders, allowing professional hockey to go ahead in the Manitoba capital with the NHL schedule set to begin Wednesday.
“We feel super fortunate that the government has allowed us to play,” Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey said. “To say it’s been a tough year is the understatement of my lifetime ... in terms of what we’ve all been dealing with.
“Collectively, we’re all in this together and it’s been a challenge for everyone.”
But that approval from Manitoba came the same day the Dallas Stars closed their facility after six players and two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. The NHL said the Stars won’t open their season until Jan. 19, at earliest.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, meanwhile, said Friday a number of players didn’t practise “out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with NHL COVID-19 protocols.”
“It’s just another reminder of what we’re dealing with here with the virus,” Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “There’s obviously no shortage of stories from other sports as well.”
Due to border restrictions related to nonessential travel and the current 14-day quarantine, Canada’s seven franchises will only play against each other in the newly-minted North Division this season instead of crossing into the U.S. The same goes for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, couldn’t recall exactly when the idea of an all-Canadian circuit was first floated, but added anything involving frequent border crossings was a non-starter.
“It’s just a no-go if the season entailed travel from a country with much higher transmission,” he said. “It was a requirement of public health’s approval here that the regular season would only be in Canada.”
Roussin said he understands that small business owners or people unable to visit family might be upset NHL games are going ahead, but added the league’s situation and ability to pull a season off safely isn’t on the same level.
“The difference is quite clear (when looking at) what the NHL could do (compared) to an eight-year-old recreational hockey league,” he said. “Nonetheless, it’s a frustrating time. We’ve said it time and time again.
“The NHL put a proposal forward that really had such robust protocols, that really had such minimal risk to Canadians that we felt the benefit of seeing some sort of normalcy during this stage was outweighing the quite minimal risk to the population.”