While the talk of an all-Canadian division for the upcoming 2020-21 season has gotten fans extremely excited, there is a chance it may not end up happening at all.
Sportsnet's Chris Johnston wrote an article on Thursday mentioning that the NHL has a fall back option depending how talks go with provincial health authorities, which is to play all games in the United States. Johnston says that his sources have told him that is the likely outcome if agreements can't be reached to make the all-Canadian Division a reality for 2020-21.
While the goal is to reach an agreement with the necessary government bodies, there has yet to be anything signed on as of Thursday afternoon. The NHL would prefer to have each of the seven Canadian teams based out of their own cities and arenas for the entire 56-game regular season. These teams would only play each other for the entirety so that they don't have to cross the border, which as of now requires a 14-day quarantine.
That plan however requires approval from health authorities in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. There have been reports that the government prefers the bubble system the NHL used for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs rather than this potential option, but the league doesn't see it being feasible to do that for the entirety of a regular season.
While it remains to be seen, it wouldn't come as a major surprise to see that the Canadian teams are forced to relocate for the 2020-21 season. For the MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to play their season in Buffalo, while the Toronto Raptors are going to be playing their season in Tampa Bay.
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