Hockey season is finally upon us.
With the National Hockey League and its Players Association—finally-agreeing to a 56-game schedule beginning on Jan. 13, the continued planning for the upcoming season is well underway.
With the Jets joining the
six other Canadian teams in a realigned “North” division, the Jets and the rest of the North division won’t be leaving Canada until the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, depending upon which team comes out of the division in the playoffs.
Or will they?
While the NHL continues to iron out issues leading up to puck drop on the 13th, figuring out their current issue in Canada is certainly atop the list.
It’s yet to be confirmed whether or not certain provinces will allow their teams to play home games in the country next month. The league and government officials from all the involved provinces continue to work on details that will hopefully allow the league to play games in Canada as planned.
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are the only two teams who have been cleared to proceed as scheduled.
“We have met federally with some federal public health individuals as well and with some interprovincial public health individuals, and work is ongoing in relation to whether or not there is public health risk to the NHL coming back,” said Dr. Jazz Atwal, Manitoba’s deputy chief provincial public health official.
Even if Manitoba allows teams to travel in and out of Winnipeg and gives the Jets the green light to play games inside of Bell MTS Place, Atwal confirms that there will be no fans in attendance to start.
"We'll have to take it sort of week by week, month to month," Atwal said. "That's something we have to address in the future. At this point, there's no desire to open fans up to watching hockey games."
Relocating the seven Canadian teams to the United States is also an option being considered by the league, but one that seems would only be put into motion as a last resort.
Beginning on Boxing Day and running through Jan. 23, Ontario is set to enter a four-week lockdown, another wrench thrown into the NHL’s plans.
While provinces like Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec have yet to sign off on the NHL’s plan, Alberta is welcoming hockey back with open arms.
As Edmonton prepares to host the 2021 World Junior Championship that begins on Christmas Day, moving all seven Canadian teams into Edmonton as a hub is being considered by the league should the remaining provinces block games from being played.
Hockey and the Jets will be back next month, but where they play remains a mystery.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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