Earlier on Thursday, we learned a deal is in place that will allow Canadian teams to play at their seven home arenas in 2020-21. This was a big step as not getting that approval would have forced the NHL to look for an alternative that may have delayed the planned start date of January 13th.
"On the basis of our discussions (with provincial health authorities) in the past week, as well as our exchange of correspondence over the last 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions on which each of our Canadian franchises can begin play in their own buildings for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season," Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.
This is great news, but we're learning that approval came with some conditions outside the usual COVID-19 testing and protocols.
"Team provinces also requested that the NHL take a strong role in promoting health and safety measures with public messaging, through visible leadership and also media buys (PSAs)," said TSN's Frank Seravalli.
Whether NHLers will be directly involved in those PSAs remains to be seen.
TSN's Darren Dreger broke the news on Thursday that "the league has approval to move forward with the season in all 7 Canadian cities." Fans should lower their expectations in regards to attending games, though. It is highly unlikely there will be fans in attendance for the start of the season anywhere in Canada.
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