A year after the pandemic temporarily closed the NHL, there are still a handful of obstacles to redistributing the Stanley Cup this season – including the US-Canada border.
The border will remain closed to unnecessary travel, an issue the NHL addressed with the realignment of its divisions ahead of the 2021 season in January. All seven teams in the North Division are based in Canada and only play against each other in the first two rounds of the postseason.
But the league has a decision ahead of them what to do if a Canadian team takes on a US opponent in the third round of the playoffs. Talks are ongoing with Canadian government officials, although nothing remains to be settled as cross-border games will not take place until mid-June.
“We have a little time to look into it,” said Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly during a video interview on Thursday. “I certainly cannot promise a result and we will work through the process and see what the result is and we will respond appropriately. But in terms of the schedule, I don’t think there is any set deadline that we need to meet in order to achieve a change in plans if that is necessary. “
One possibility is for the North Division champions to reach the last four games of the league and play their home games in a US city. Or there can be some kind of modified quarantine when teams cross the line.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL has no plans to hold the playoffs in some sort of bubble like the one in Toronto and Edmonton last year, but they could do something similar if necessary to meet Canadian regulations.
“We will try to maintain our flexibility and agility,” said Bettman, “and we will respect the process.”
The league has also said it won’t cross the line on vaccines, but there is some machinations about what could happen when vaccinations become available to the general public. D.
“Like everything else, it’s kind of a work in progress and I think it will evolve at different stages based on the introduction of the vaccine,” said Daly, who believes several players with pre-existing conditions have already been vaccinated. “At some point we will get into a position I would think and I would hope where there are widespread vaccinations. I think we will also gradually respond to what that means and how we continue to develop our protocols. “
Those protocols have already changed this season, helping to bring the number of players on the COVID-19 protocol list down from a season high of 59 on February 12th to four on Wednesday. A total of 138 players spent at least one day on the list. A total of 35 games were postponed due to virus-related reasons.
“We mastered the first two months of this season in extremely challenging conditions, being with the medical experts every day to improve our protocols and it has put us in a better place,” said Bettman.
On matters more under the control of the NHL, Daly said the draft “more than likely” will proceed as planned July 23-24, despite concerns from some team managers about many outlook not playing this season .
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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed to this.
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
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