NHL’S Flames making contingency plans for U.S. training camp
The Calgary Flames’ first preference is holding its ‘Return to Play’ training camp in Calgary when the National Hockey League shifts into Phase 3.
However, because of Canadian government restrictions for any incoming travellers requiring a 14-day isolation period to limit the spread of COVID-19, the team is exploring the logistics of holding a camp in the U.S.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving said the team started the process when the NHL began firming up dates, including the potential start of training camps that won’t occur before July 10.
With a large chunk of the roster out of Canada — Mikael Backlund, Rasmus Andersson, Elias Lindholm and Oliver Kylington are still in Sweden, David Rittich is in the Czech Republic, Matthew Tkachuk is in St. Louis, Johnny Gaudreau is on the New Jersey shore, and Noah Hanifin is in Massachusetts — the quarantine process raises an issue if it’s still in effect in a month.
“We’ve certainly looked into it,” Treliving said. “We have a lot of people out of country, whether that be Europe or the U.S. Even if you’re flying commercially within Canada, there’s a quarantine. Our thought was that if there was a training camp starting on a certain day and we couldn’t get everybody back or they couldn’t quarantine in time for the camp, we said, ‘OK, what are our options?’”
The quarantine issue has also been a discussion point for the NHL when considering hub cities for the playoffs, as Canadian cities wouldn’t be options if players and staff are required to isolate for two weeks.
At the end of May, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking to ease restrictions on the U.S. border so it would be possible to have playoffs in Edmonton — one of the potential host cities.
The coronavirus situation in Alberta continues to improve with hospitalization rates remaining low and active COVID-19 cases are lower than expected. The Alberta government is moving into Stage 2 of relaunch on June 12.