NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he hopes NHL teams in Canada can play home games this season.
“Based on our discussions [with provincial health authorities] last week, in addition to our correspondence exchange over the past 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and agree on the conditions under which each of our Canadian franchises can begin playing in their own buildings for the start of the 2020-21 season of the NHL, “Daly said in a statement Thursday.
The NHL season is scheduled to begin Jan. 13 after the league and the NHL Players Association finalized a deal on Sunday to celebrate a 56-game season that will include the playoffs in July to award the Stanley Cup. .
The season will be very unusual in at least one aspect: there will be four divisions – North, South, East and West – and all games will be within them through the first two rounds of the playoffs to minimize travel and the potential of the coronavirus to interrupt the season.
The northern division contains only seven Canadian teams: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. These teams should not cross the U.S.-Canada border, which remains closed for non-essential travel until at least January 21st.
The league allows the possibility of playing in neutral places if necessary. The final details of where the Canadian teams will play are pending until there are agreements with federal and provincial health officials.
The NHL was completed last season in bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, with players, coaches and staff isolated from the general public and tested daily.
As for the divisions, Boston, Buffalo, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, and the two New York teams are to the east; Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville and Tampa Bay are in the center; and Arizona, Anaheim, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis, San Jose and Vegas are to the west.
Emily Kaplan of ESPN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.