NHL May Have to Relocate Canadian Teams Due to Health Protocols

• NHL may have to temporarily relocate the seven Canada-based franchises due to health protocols
• Canadian restrictions resulted in Raptors, Blue Jays having to relocate
• San Jose Sharks also having to hold training camp in Arizona

While the NBA is getting ready to begin its delayed 2020-21 season next week, the NHL is still figuring things out. One of the remaining sticking points with the NHL is the fact that seven of the league’s 31 teams play their home games in Canada. Because travel between the United States and Canada remains restricted as a result of the pandemic, the league is having to find a way to make alternative plans for a large chunk of its franchises.

On Thursday, the NHL reportedly told those seven Canada-based teams that there is a chance that they will have to play all of their games next season in the US. The league had been hoping to begin a 56-game regular season on January 13 with every team playing games in their standard home arenas. Those plans included the idea of grouping all seven Canadian teams into their own Canada-only division that would keep all of those teams north of the border for the duration of the campaign.

Canadian Protocols Halting Plans

However, Canada may decide to reject some of the NHL’s proposed health protocols, which may force the league to alter its plans. If that happens, the league would have to come up with a contingency plan. It’s looking increasingly likely that all seven teams will have to find a temporary home in the US instead.

The league and NHL Players’ Association were hoping to have a plan finalized by the end of this week. The league’s board of governors and the NHLPA executive committee would both have to sign off on any proposal before it became official. However, the sides are still negotiating as of this writing.

The news of Canada’s potential unwillingness to host NHL games hardly comes as a surprise given how the nation has approached other professional sports leagues. The Toronto Blue Jays were temporarily forced to relocate to Buffalo, New York, last season instead of playing in Canada. The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, are set to play at least the beginning of the upcoming season in Tampa, Florida.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reportedly been in touch with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ leading infectious disease expert, regarding how to proceed. The NHL and NHLPA have also been meeting on a daily basis for months in an attempt to hammer out details ahead of the upcoming campaign.

The NHL is looking to get its entire season played before the start of the Tokyo Olympics next July. The league is then hoping to begin its 2021-22 season as scheduled next October.

Bettman Open to Another Bubble Format

In a video conference with the World Hockey Forum on Thursday, Bettman said,

“We have a couple of clubs that can’t hold training camp or conduct games even without fans in their current buildings and facilities. And we’re going to have to move them somewhere else to play.”

The San Jose Sharks are also having to temporarily relocate due to local health restrictions in Santa Clara County, California. The Sharks will instead hold their training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. The NFL’s San Francisco 49ers recently had to play two “home” games in Glendale, Arizona, due to the same local ban on contact sports.

Earlier this week, scores of players from around the league returned to their home NHL markets in anticipation of the season getting started in mid-January. Training camps around the league are still slated to begin shortly after Christmas, but the league’s formal plans remain fluid.

The NHL and NHLPA have already agreed that the seven teams that were not invited to participate in the league’s summer restart will be allowed to host additional training camps to prepare for next season. Those teams have not played a game since March, when the league initially halted operations due to the pandemic. Because the league is facing such a short window, those teams may wind up getting just one-to-three extra days of practice.

The NHL is apparently open to the idea of a “hybrid bubble” format if certain teams are banned from playing games in their own arenas next season. Bettman added,

“Right now, we’re focused on whether or not we’re going to play in our buildings and do some limited traveling or play in a bubble. That’s something we’re working on and getting medical advice on.”