Photo: NHL.com
After the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario had yet to allow the Canadian NHL teams to travel across the country to play one another, league deputy commissioner Bill Daly said that he believes that the government and NHL have agreed to the conditions so that each team could host games in their home arena.
“On the basis of our discussions in the past week, as well as our exchange of correspondence over the last 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions on which each of our Canadian franchises can begin play in their own buildings for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season,” Daly told TSN.
#NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly this afternoon on the seven Canadian 🇨🇦 teams and talks with the provinces (via @PierreVLeBrun): https://t.co/iSHdqxLs4N#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/AK2SwRa0xS
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) December 24, 2020
TSN’s Darren Dreger added that the NHL and NHLPA have agreed to do additional testing if necessary and are both committed to using some of the game’s top stars in COVID-19-related public service announcements.
On Wednesday, the provinces wrote a joint letter to the NHL requesting that they schedule their games in blocks and test participants regularly.
Later in the day the NHL released an official statement:
Statement from Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on NHL Canadian Clubs Playing in Home Arenas. pic.twitter.com/mtCLTwlLcB
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 24, 2020
The Montreal Canadiens are scheduled to visit the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers are set to host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, January 13, opening night of the 2020-21 NHL season.
By Harrison Brown
