Less than 24 hours after the NHL and NHLPA had announced a tentative agreement, pending BOG approval, the San Jose Sharks have made a very interesting announcement.
Per The Score's Sean O'Leary, the Sharks will hold training camp in Arizona, as opposed to their usual California home due to Santa Clara County's temporary ban on contact sports.
With COVID[-19] numbers soaring in the area, Santa Clara County, and many others in the State have remained in purple tier, which is among the highest risk of exposure.
With training camps for non-playoff teams such as the Sharks opening up on Dec 31st, Santa Clara County will remain in that purple-tier until at least January 8th, which necessitated the move by San Jose due to the conflicting timelines.
The Sharks are not the first professional sports organization to implement such a move, as they follow suit with the NFL's San Francisco 49'ers, who have also made Arizona their temporary home due to the lower risk of exposure and transmission of COVID-19.
If all goes according to plan, the NHL season will commence on January 13th and will contain 56 games, down from the typical 82 due to time constraints.
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