Could we see all seven Canadian teams in the National Hockey League playing the 2020-21 season in the United States?
According to TSN hockey insider Frank Seravalli, league may have no choice but to do so if agreements can't be reached with the league, the teams and provincial health authorities in Canada.
"We've reached a delicate stage in the Return To Play process," Seravalli explained when speaking on TSN's Insider Trading. "The NHL and its seven Canadian clubs have been going back-and-forth with the provincial health authorities trying to nail down protocols that work for all of the stake holders involved, and the provincial health authorities have not signed off yet. They've run into some difficulties. These protocols have been changing by the hour and daily."
In a statement released by the Public Health Agency of Canada on Thursday, it says that the priority is to protect the health and safety of all Canadians, and that NHL teams must continue to operate within the rules of their provincial jurisdictions.
With this possibility, that means that the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets may all have to play the reported 56-game 2020-21 season in a temporary home in the United States.
How does the NHL intend to proceed with these latest developments in the coming days as they try to continue to hammer out the logistics of the upcoming season with the NHL Players' Association?
"Moving forward, the NHL's preference continues to be to open the season in all 31 buildings, including all seven Canadian arenas. But what if that can't happen? Well, they'd have to resort to some other alternatives," Seravalli said. "One could be playing the season in a hub city, or the other less-desirable option would b e to move all seven Canadian teams south of the border for the 2020-21 season. The NHL remains optimistic at this point that they can sort all of this out, but we'll see where this goes, because this is a significant development."
TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun also added to this report during Insider Trading that with this scenario being looked at, the possibility of the "All-Canadian" division for the upcoming season would likely be no longer. As a result, it would lead the NHL to continue to look at more re-alignment options for the upcoming season.
The original plan for the NHL this season was to reportedly have all seven Canadian teams play out the regular season in Canada, while the other 24 teams in the United States make up three separate divisions of eight teams each. Then those eight teams in each division would play the season only amongst themselves to cut back on travel and try to avoid any further potential spread of COVID-19.
The hope continues to remain that the 2020-21 season can get started as soon as Jan. 13, 2021, but there continues to be no timetable to have any formal announcement of the upcoming campaign between the NHL and NHLPA.