Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced on Wednesday that the province will extend it's current lockdown by four weeks, ending on February 8th, and as of Saturday, an 8pm curfew will be in place.
According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the extended lockdown, and new curfew won't affect the Montreal Canadiens from playing home games at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens are exempt from the lockdown and curfew because of the NHL's COVID-19 protocol agreement with provincial health authorities.
Legault said in his press conference today: «I think that Quebecers want to have hockey games. It is done in a completely secure way and they have the means to afford that security. The matches will be played in the evening as scheduled."
The Habs are on the road for the first six games of the 2020-21 season, before their home opener on January 28th against the Calgary Flames.
They'll open the season one week from tonight (January 13th) against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena, with puck drop set for 7pm ET.
While the Canadiens are exempt from the lockdown/curfew, there hasn't been any clarity about their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, who announced today that they will play out of the Bell Centre for the 2020-21 season.
With Quebec lockdown extended to Feb. 8, with 8pm curfew, plan is for #Habs to still play home games as scheduled (sans fans) as they are exempt based on NHL's protocol agreements with provincial health authorities.— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 6, 2021
